Expanding the line into menswear…

Do not adjust your screen. Above is a photo of my latest project, modeled by my fiance Andy, who is the recipient of said project.

I was feeling guilty for spending all of my sewing time exclusively on projects for myself, so I decided the time was nigh for Andy to get a new shirt. He’s desperately in need of more and I wanted to expand my sewing horizons. He has as difficult a time finding clothes that fit as I do – 28″ waist, 32″inseam (try finding 28×32 pants. Go on. Try it. They only exist in Banana Republic and Express). He also has a 38″chest (classic V shape) and thus has difficulty finding shirts to fit that aren’t huge on him. He’s a pretty slim guy and wants slim fitting tailored shirts and because American dudes keep getting fatter, the offerings for those with true athletic physiques are slim.

Pun intended.

I decided to use a vintage pattern since, in general, patterns ran smaller back in the day, and men’s wear was distinctively not baggy/loose/relaxed in the 1960s.

I have eBay to thank for Simplicity 3875:

Since this was for Andy and Andy is picky about his shirts, I decided to make a practice shirt out of an old sheet to get everything right. The pattern was a size 40 chest/15.5″ neck and he really is a 14″ neck and a 38″ chest, so I adjusted the pattern by comparing measurements with his favorite Banana Republic shirt. The result was mostly success – I would prefer to draft smaller armholes and sleeves but he likes it this way. He says it’s comfy while still being fitted. After I made the practice shirt he was really hooked on the idea of a custom fitted shirt. He was so into it that he went with me to the fabrics store to pick out the fabric and even spent a few hours online with me checking out Vogue Fabrics.

How cool is that? My fiance not only endorses my sewing, he goes with me to pick out fabric. He picked out the buttons too. He was very specific about what he wanted and the end result is that this is his new favorite shirt (or so he claims). I finished it last night and he wore it to work today, so I guess he wasn’t lying.

I thought sewing a men’s shirt would be hard, but really it was a lot easier than many women’s garments. I had the whole thing done in two days (minus the buttons, button holes and hem). I did not do true flat felled seams – I tried on the shoulders and it was a mess, so I topstitched over the seam allowance instead. On the outside, you can’t tell the difference. I would love to be able to do true flat felled seams but I think my machine is my limiter right now – not enough feet options or needle placement options to do it correctly.

He was so pleased with this that I found another pattern and we’re going shopping online tonight for more fabric.

[caption id="attachment_813" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="notched collar closeup (before being steam pressed into position)"][/caption][caption id="attachment_815" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="the stupid continuous lap, a design feature that I know I got wrong"][/caption]

Now I just hope I can win this little contest over at Adventures in Babysewing and I can make Andy another shirt.
This, by the way, is so cool. The sewing bloggers have free friday pattern give aways all the time. Could you imagine if cyclists did that?

It’s Friday! Comment on my blog and get a free pair of Ksyriums. Leave a comment and a link and I’ll draw the winner on Monday.

Hmm…if cyclists weren’t such cheap bastards it might actually work. Winner pays shipping.