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Wednesday, 1 January 2014

The Christmas Shirt (aka McCalls 6044 take 2)

I made my dear partner another shirt, this one for Christmas. I used McCalls 6044 as previously blogged about in The Birthday Shirt. I used all the previous alterations to the pattern, but in addition to those I also lengthened the sleeves by 6cm.
Sleeves actually fit those long arms this time.
This is a lovely soft 100% cotton shirting purchased from Spotlight. I actually used the wrong side of the fabric as the right side because the blue lines were a little more subtle and just looked better.
Front
Back
Pockets and Pearl Snaps
I cut the pockets on the bias to add some visual interest. This made them a little tricky to sew. I had to be very careful not to stretch the fabric and distort the pocket shape. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out. 
Back yoke also cut on the bias.

 All the seams have been flat felled. I love this technique in a man's shirt. It's really not that hard to do and results in such a lovely neat finish, inside and out.
Tower Placket
As in The Birthday Shirt I replaced the continuous placket with a tower placket, but I lengthened this one to make rolling the sleeves up a little easier. I cut the tower placket on the bias and to avoid distorting the fabric, I fused a very lightweight interfacing to it. This worked beautifully and I was very pleased with the result. It hardly added any stiffness to the placket so it hasn't effected function at all.
Close up of shirt details
Instead of buttons, I used pearl snaps (press studs), a request from my partner. These came from snapsource.com and I applied them with my Snap Setter tool also purchased from the same supplier. I can't recommend this company enough. The snaps are really good quality and the Snapsetter Tool is very easy to use. Tip: don't attempt to apply snaps after 10pm or you may experience some abuse heated discussion from other members of your household. I speak from experience.
He's smiling...I think he likes it.

 I have found sewing men's shirts very satisfying. It's fairly easy to achieve a good fit as they have less curves than women and they just turn out so well...just like a bought one, only better.

 On a different note, I have joined Sarah from Goodbye Valentino in a Ready To Wear fast for 2014. That means I have given up buying Ready-to-Wear clothing from January 1 2014 – December 31, 2014 one year in favour of making my clothes. 


What constitutes a RTW fast? Refraining from buying ALL outerwear, dresses, tops, pants, shorts, sweaters, coats, exercise clothes, jeans and bathing suits. Shoes, socks and underwear are permitted :)
Happy Sewing
at

10 comments:

  1. Debbie Cook2 January 2014 at 00:56

    That shirt is lovely, and very professional looking. Your partner seems quite pleased with it ... and was a great model. Happy New Year to you both!

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    Replies
    1. Sew, Jean Margaret3 January 2014 at 14:22

      Thank you Debbie. He was a great model, especially considering he was hungry and wanted to get going out to dinner.

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  2. BeaJay2 January 2014 at 07:36

    Lovely shirt. Very tailored. Great details.

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    1. Sew, Jean Margaret3 January 2014 at 14:26

      Thanks BeaJay. It was great to finally make a shirt that fitted properly. He was amazed that the sleeves were the right length. He has never been able to buy a shirt with long enough sleeves. His only complaint was that he was not sure if he was putting it on right side out because there are no tags inside.

      Delete
  3. Carolyn2 January 2014 at 17:48

    The shirt looks great! excellent fit and your man looks rightfully pleased and appreciative too :)
    Good luck with the pledge! Y'know, sewing underwear and kitting socks is actually pretty easy, and with your skills you are more than capable of going the whole mile ;)

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    1. Sew, Jean Margaret3 January 2014 at 14:29

      Thanks so much Carolyn. Great to receive praise from such an accomplished men's shirt maker. I would like to have a go at making underwear, but I am not much of a knitter I'm afraid. Everything is fine till I drop a stitch, then I'm hopeless.

      Delete
  4. Megan O2 January 2014 at 20:13

    Indeed it is just like a bought one. It looks fantastic! I have just ordered the Colette Negroni pattern for my first foray into men's shirts this year.

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    1. Sew, Jean Margaret3 January 2014 at 14:32

      Thank you Megan. I have read that the Negroni is a great pattern. It has all the features I had to add to McCalls 6044. Looking forward to seeing your first men's shirt. I'm sure you will enjoy the process.

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  5. Rosi4 January 2014 at 08:23

    Great shirt! And a champion modelling effort too :). Thanks for the tips on press studs. I think I might just like to try that technique.

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    Replies
    1. Sew, Jean Margaret4 January 2014 at 22:43

      Thanks Rosi. I'm really happy that I made the investment in the Snap Setter Tool. They are so easy to apply and look great. And my "model" did do a great job.

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