Hi
all,
T
has been complaining lately about the fact that all his shirts are
too short. He likes his shirts tucked in. Which is impossible when
the shirt tails are only an inch lower than his waistband. It drives
him nuts.
Good
job he knows someone with a sewing machine. Any excuse to go fabric
and pattern shopping, right?
The chosen pattern was Simplicity 1544 from 2013.
As I
haven’t made a man’s shirt before, I definitely knew that a mock
up was essential before attempting the real garment. I chose what I
thought to be a Cotton Broadcloth. It was in a Thanksgiving sale last
November. At $2.89 a yard it was a bargain.
Or so I thought. It
turned out to be a polycotton blend with a slightly satin/silky feel
to it.
I
mentioned in a previous post that mock ups need
to be in a fabric that closely matches the material you’ll be using
for the real item. As T only likes cotton shirts, I’ll be making
his shirt from 100% cotton.
The
fabric delivery had been delayed for over a month so it was after
Christmas when I finally got a good look at the quality of the
material.
One of the big drawbacks of online shopping, not being able
to touch, feel or pull at your fabric of choice.
Still, onward and upwards. T needs shirts and has been waiting since
November last year.
I
decided to go ahead with the mock up using the polycotton. Too much
time had already gone by. It was mid-January before I even started
cutting the pieces out.
Oh
boy, did I struggle with this fabric! It’s got a slippery texture
and just slides all over the place when you sew it. By the time I got
to Instruction number 14 on the pattern, I was ready to throw in the
towel. Or better still, the shirt out the window.
Lesson
learned. Fabric goes on sale for $2.89 a yard for a reason.
Luckily,
I’m built of a certain stubbornness which refuses to give in. I
soldered on, albeit through gritted teeth and the odd choice word
here and there.
Here
is the finished mock up.
I
didn’t bother with buttons for this. The mock up isn’t wearable.
With all the fabric fighting I was doing, I managed to stitch the
interfaced side of one of the cuffs to the right side of the shirt. I
guess I’m still having issues with which side is what.
Anyway,
the pattern is easy to follow. Which is great. One of the reasons
I’ve never attempted a man’s shirt before is they’re supposed
to be complicated. This pattern proves they are not. Fiddly in
places, yes. But not complicated. The shirt starts looking like a
shirt pretty early on, which is uplifting. A much needed confidence
boost when the fabric is a challenge to work with.
There
are some bits of the pattern I’ll change before making the real
shirt.
Finishing
Seams
The
instructions for the sleeves go as follows, “Stitch. Stitch
again 1/8" (3mm) from first stitching. Trim seam below notches close to stitching. Press seam towards shirt”.
OK, well, that sounds a
bit more complicated than it needed to be. Basically, you stitch the
seam at the seam allowance, then stitch another row inside the
allowance, turn the shirt over to the right side, and topstitch.
What
it didn’t say, was fold the raw edges of the seam under. This would
have created a flat felled seam and covered the raw edges neatly.
As
it is, I can see the raw edges and my notches through the fabric.
Now, this isn’t a fault with the pattern. It’s human error.
Otherwise known as my ditzyness showing though.
With
any commercial pattern, there is a certain amount of expected
knowledge. The pattern makers presume you know how to finish seams
and will do so the way you prefer. They don’t always mention how
because it’s your choice. Apart from men’s shirt seams. They are nearly always
flat felled. Because it looks nice and gives an added strength to the seam.
I
was so engrossed in following the instructions because I was
expecting this project to be difficult, I tripped over the obvious. Allowing for seam finishing
got lost in the deepest darkest depths of my brain. Misfiled under
“things to forget”. Oops.
It’s
a good job this is the mock up.
This picture shows what the seam should look like.
This
is why mock ups are so important. They don’t just help you with
fit. Doing a test garment helps you find problem areas within the
pattern. From vague instructions to working through complex sections.
The test piece allows you to practice the pattern, to hone your
skills so the actual garment will be the best you can make it.
Plackets
Sleeves
on men’s shirts have plackets near the cuffs. The style on this
shirt was for a tower placket, or a house
placket. So called because the top looks like a tower or a little
house.
I
found creating the placket fiddly beyond belief. No matter what I did
I could not get the fabric to lay flat once I’d turned it to the
right side. I think I’ve spent most of the time on this project
over on the dark side! Thankfully, it doesn’t matter too much. This
is just a test after all. It gave me some much needed practice in
doing plackets, something I haven’t had to do before.
I’ll
be trying out the plackets again on some scraps of actual 100% cotton
fabric before sewing the real shirt.
I’m
hoping the main difficulties for this part are fabric related. Not
only does this polycotton move when you stitch it, it doesn’t iron
well either.
Length
When
T tried the mock up, it was only an inch longer than his existing
shirts. So, I’ll need to lengthen the front, back and the front
bands where the buttons go. Which means I’ll have to change the
button placement slightly so they’re spread evenly down the front.
Apart
from that, the shirt fits really well and I’m pleased with how the
mock up turned out. Hopefully, when I make the actual shirt from this
plaid cotton
shirting, it will be a walk in the park.
Fingers
crossed!
My
next challenge will be pattern matching plaid. Sewing your own
clothes is a never ending learning curve guaranteed to keep you on
your toes!
But
that’s a topic for a future post.
Follow my blog Simply Stitchy, so you don’t miss the post
where I let you know how I get on. Liking my Facebook page will not
only help me out, but you’ll be able to keep up to date with all
that I do.
Bye
for now
Olly
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