Monday, May 08, 2006

Seersucker shirts

It's been a bit of a hiatus. I had germs and then end of semester and house visits. Anyway, I decided to tell my husband about the shirt I was going to make for him so there's no big secret (except for the fact that I bought a second length of seersucker so he will end up with two shirts). Shhh.

I made that second short sleeved shirt in yellow and it turned out as cute at the pink one. I have even worn the pink one twice and washed it!
two shirts
And there they are.

My husband wants a long sleeved seersucker shirt because he read in a bicycling magazine that that's what one wears when the sun is hot and in danger of burning you. Okay. So I was lucky to finally find some thin cotton seersucker on sale and I bought two lengths of it. The first, shown here, is mainly white with an uneven stripe. I even got too much and was able to cut out a sleeveless little blouse for myself, using a NEW Vogue pattern I also got on sale.
patterns shirts
I have made his shirt pattern (McCall's 9579) on several occasions so it's pretty routine. The Vogue pattern (2634) is not at all complicated so I don't think I should run into any snags along the way. It has front bands that are merely the long edge of the front turned under twice - the same construction as my husband's shirt. I also like the fact that both shirts have proper two piece collars. I find that I can't do up the one piece collar at the neck without it looking odd.
collars twice
[And there's my new ironing board cover that I made while the dog was in kennels!]
His collar is cut following the lengthwise grain, like most collars. I decided this first time on the Vogue pattern that I would follow the instructions and make my collar with the stripes running across it instead of down its length and see what issues I have later. It might even be cute, who knows.
collar inside
As usual, I interface both sides of the collar and press open the seam on the inside before turning the collar and doing any topstitching. I also interfaced both sides of HIS collar band but decided not to do that on mine, partly because the instructions don't call for it and partly because I was running out of interfacing.
yoke inside
His shirt has a yoke on the back and although it is not a great photo, I am showing the fact that I don't bother to trim the seam allowances on the yoke before assembling the back. I don't think the bulk needs to be trimmed and I also think it makes for a neater look to have all the 5/8 seam allowances lined up. When you trim, you can get a little uneven here and there.
pocket
To get the stripes on the pocket lined up exactly, I waited until I had cut out all the pieces and then, with what I had left, I lined up the leftover fabric, right side up, with where the pocket was going to go on the front of the left side of his shirt. Then I cut out the pocket using pinking shears and once it was sewed on, it looks pretty professional.

6 comments:

Cindi said...

You just amaze me! Wish I had your talent. I can't wait to see the finished project.

JuliaR said...

Cindi, I just visited your blog and you have plenty of talent, believe me! I used to sew "soft furnishings for the home" one year when I was in school but the money I made wasn't worth the time I put in so now I just sew for myself and my own pleasure. Not sure when I'll get HIS shirt done but he won't model it for anyone until he's lost a little weight. :) I just look stupid in most pictures so I hang my finished shirts on the door to show them off.

Thanks Sharon! Sending good thoughts your way on the CAT scan too.

Anonymous said...

We've missed your posts! Glad to have you back. I've learned a ton from your blog. Melissa

JuliaR said...

Thanks Melissa, glad I could help!

Anonymous said...

Do you know where I can buy a clapper?

JuliaR said...

Anon, apparently, Amazon sells them!
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AMZLVQ/102-1744583-3769769?v=glance&n=284507
This is a clapper and point presser combo - I only have the bottom, clapper part. I bought mine at a high-end fabric store here in Ottawa called Darrell Thomas. Darrell talked me into it and I have always been grateful.

Have a look at this article too:
http://www.quiltersreview.com/article.asp?article=/tip/expert/010507_e.asp
Google clapper and sewing and you should be able to find one from there.