When fabric shopping last week, Adam found some burgundy cotton, scattered with small golden stars.  He asked if I would make him a shirt and of course, I agreed as long as he could find me a pattern.  So he did.  He chose a New Look pattern that had an option for a shirt for both of us.  I must admit that I was a little scared of the thought of making something that wasn’t clothing for me.  I couldn’t try  it on half way through and I knew that it had to be as close to perfect as possible as I know how fussy Adam can be with his clothes.

This was the first pattern where I had traced elements rather than cutting it all out to the size needed.  I used freezer paper to trace and it is nice to know that I have that pre-cut pattern now to use again.  Even if it did take an extra hour to trace and cut

I made a few alterations to the instructions as it called for interfacing within the collar and under the shirt front.  I didn’t have any  so just went for a facing in the same material, which turned out to be just right and wasn’t too thick!  The body of the shirt came together perfectly and the facings were relatively easy to attach too.  The collar confused me loads and the instructions weren’t very clear; the pictures didn’t really help either.  I attached it and just hoped I had done it right!  It turned out fine but it seemed a very long winded way to attach a collar!  I also ended up catching a tiny bit of the facing in the collar seam….ggggrrrr!  Adam didn’t notice though!

Continue reading ➞ The Tale of the Short Sleeved Shirt