This February I’m sewing along with Male Pattern Boldness and a bunch of other talented seamsters. We’re all making men’s shirts. Mine is for my husband, and here’s a reflection on my efforts to sew well.
I finished the rough muslin for the men’s shirt Sew-Along this weekend. Many in the Sew-Along completed their muslins with both interfacing and buttons, but I had neither the time nor the supplies. Instead, I made this simple muslin for practice and sizing.
My husband is both tall and long waisted, so we went into this process figuring we’d have to add some length. I wish I had a picture to show you how short the sleeves on this muslin are, but I was too busy during the fitting to pull out the camera. We agreed we’d take pictures later, but we had such an adventure-filled weekend that my husband is now fast asleep. Surprisingly, everything else seems to fit pretty well. When I ordered the pattern off the internet, I guessed his size as a 40, and it turns out I was right on.
I traced new pattern pieces from the originals adding a half an inch to the sleeve, back, left front, and right front. I also added notes as to how to use the silk accent fabric. After some deliberation (and drawing on the muslin!), we decided the silk would be on the collar facing, the collar band, the placket facing on the front of the shirt, the inside of the cuff, and the sleeve placket. The pattern I’m using doesn’t have separate pattern pieces for the inside of the cuff or the placket facing on the front of the shirt, but it wasn’t hard to redraft the patterns to allow for such elements.
We also decided that we’d keep the epaulettes and left-breast pocket and that we’d toss the sleeve tabs and right-breast pocket. And, we’re going to stitch the side seam all the way down. You can’t tell from the picture above, but this shirt has slits a quarter of the way up the sides of the shirt. They’re fun, but they don’t fit with our vision for this linen/silk shirt.
Now to order the linen from FineFabrics.com and get back to sewing!
Sew Well 
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