Variation On A Shirt

My husband is a big fan of visual interest in his shirts.  It started a while back while window shopping in Palm Beach and coming across some prohibitively priced shirts that he fell in love with.  Gamely, I promised that I would give them a try.  This is my second result, which is better than my first.  Hopefully my shirt making skills will continue to improve.

If you are going to invest time in a shirt, I highly recommend David Page Coffin's book, Shirtmaking, Developing Skills For Fine Sewing or the DVD Shirtmaking Techniques.  Actually, there is a great deal more information in the book so I highly recommend getting both.  Although I used a commercial pattern, most of my construction techniques come from Coffin's book and DVD.  His work is beautiful, both inside and out, and he walks you through techniques that hopefully guarantee a professional looking result.

Some photos below. 

The buttons I used are from Sawyer Brook. Sadly, the owner is retiring and looking for a buyer for the business.  I so hope she finds one and that it stays in New England.  Although mainly mail order, you can visit the location most days.  We have so little left here in New England for garment sewers.  Quilt shops galore, but sadly not so for fine garment fabrics.

And, of course, there is the mandatory monogram on his shirts, with a tiny border of the contrast fabric along the top of the pocket.

One tip I will pass along is the importance of changing out presser feet often.  It takes just a moment, but the results of using an edge stitching foot for the huge amount of edge stitching (and top stitching as well) are well worth the effort.  A flat fell foot is very helpful as well, though you can duplicate that effect pretty well by improvising with a standard foot as well.

 Slan