Selfless Sewing: A Men's Shirt

A while ago I made this shirt for Lescha. It was my second attempt. The first one was a slight disaster which escalated when I stitched and opened the buttonholes on the wrong side of the button band. As I don't want to relive this nightmare, I'm not going to show you version 1 (which is wearable - and Lescha does - after I closed the buttonholes and stitched them on the right side).

May I proudly present Lescha's purple shirt:

 

Fabric: Black/purple oxford shirting bought in Goldhawk Road. It frayed a bit, but was otherwise a breeze to sew. I interfaced the collar, collar stand and cuffs with fusible canvas which I bought from English Couture. The plackets are interfaced with fine cotton. I got these two interfacing plus Bondaweb (which I didn't use) in a Shirt Interfacing Starter Pack. 

I had the hardest time ever to fuse the canvas to the fabric. Although I used loads of steam and pressed with my whole weight on the iron there are patches on the collar and cuffs where the interfacing came off after washing the shirt. It's so annoying. So if you have any tips, please share.

Pattern: It's Burda style pattern 7045 which comes in three versions - aka three different collar types. Lescha wanted version A which has the classic collar.

Alterations: I made four muslins (if counting shirt No1) before I got the fit right. Leschas main problem with RTW shirts is that he always has a massive fabric fold at the back joke right under the neck. I quickly figured out that this was due to his square shoulders. So I made a square shoulder adjustment on the yoke following the instructions of "Fit for real people". It essentially involves the addition of a triangle of fabric to the yoke at the shoulder points.

To make the shirt more tailored I took it in a lot at the side seams. Here I just took a tailored shirt he owns and likes as a guideline to have an idea how fitted the shirt should be. As shirt No1 was to tight over the chest and in the back I added 1/4'' on the back, front and yoke pattern (that was after I attempted a FBA on a MEN's shirt, haha, didn't work well). I know that on the photos it still looks like the shirt is too tight but Lescha said it isn't. I think the shine caught by the camera makes it look worse on the photos than it actually is.

I raised the sleeve cap as well a couple of centimeters. Because I had done the square shoulder adjustment, I didn't had to worry about the added circumference of the cap. I just kept measuring and changing the sleeve cap until it fit into the armhole. (The massive crease you are seeing here is not my doing. Lescha always irons it in.)

You can see that he has plenty of space at the back now. Thus his forward arm movements are not restrained.

I also changed the sleeves. I made them a bit tighter at the wrist and 1" wider at the underarm. I couldn't find instructions how to widen the underarm only (and not the wrist and biceps area). Thus I cut off the wrist and biceps on the pattern leaving me with the underarm. I spread the underarm by 0.5" left and right to the center and then attached the now to small wrist and biceps pattern. I then tapered the seam lines so that they fit. Leaving me with a sleeve pattern that had a bulge in the underarm area :)

Construction: I didn't follow the instructions - except for the placket. Lescha had lovingly gifted me with the Craftsy class "The classic tailored shirt" a year and a half ago. So I followed the instructions of the instructor which are great and very detailed. Thanks To the class I didn't have to handstitch the yoke but could use my sewing machine. I handstitched however the under-collar and the cuffs to the shirt. Which was not too bad and didn't take long.

The only time I used the instructions were for attaching the placket because this type of placket is not covered in the Craftsy class. My second attempt turned out much better.

So how about you? Have you attempted the "art" of shirt making? I will be making another one soonish - Christmas present :)

More Flowers: Burda Skirt

Pattern: Burda No 0005A from Burda Style Special autumn/winter No5/2013. This is already my fourth make from this Burda issue, which is actually the only Burda issue I have. So, I am proud that I have used several patterns from it and no, I am not done yet, there is another pattern that I want to make.

The skirt has a front and back yoke and a front and back skirt panel. It comes with a facing, which is essentially the yoke pattern. I also made a lining by just cutting out the back and front skirt panels from lining fabric. The skirt has an invisible side zipper.

Fabric: When I bought the shell fabric, I was convinced it is some kind of linen. But now I am not so sure anymore. Because linen creases and I have been wearing the skirt/sitting in the bus and no single crease appeared! So, maybe its a linen/polyester mix - with loads of polyester!

Annoyingly, there was a blue mark on the fabric, which I didn't spot when it was cut. It looked like somebody had scribbled lines with a blue pen on it. The stains didn't go out after washing and I couldn't avoid them, because I had just enough fabric to cut the shortest version of the skirt. There is a blue line on the front skirt panel, but luckily it is difficult to spot.

Looking at this pic, I think the hem is still not level.

For the facing I used some white cotton voile. I was worried that the "linen" would loose its shape and to avoid the yoke growing on me, I used the cotton and a woven fusible interfacing. The lining is made from a nude-colored polyester. I made a lining because I was worried that the white parts of the skirt might be a bit see through.

Nude lining - it felt a bit weird lifting my skirt in public :D

Size: I cut a straight size 40, but had to take in a couple of cm when trying on the basted skirt. Otherwise I didn't do any alterations, yeah.

Construction: I didn't follow the instructions at all, but just sewed however I though it is right. For putting in the invisible zipper, I followed Sunni's tutorial from the free Craftsy Zipper Class and when adding the facing used the technique from the Colette Sewing Book.

I wanted to have a pic with the flowers.

Facing and shell fabric are stitched together at the top of the yoke (obviously) and at the yoke/skirt panel seam line. The problem was that my shell was slightly bigger than the facing and I decided to just ease it in. But because of the easing there are now a few bulges on the front yoke. (That was the moment I asked myself: Why is my sewing never going smooth? I don't think I ever had a garment that I sewed without any problems.)

The part that took me longest was the hemming. Because of my sway back, the back was shorter than the front. I was standing in front of the mirror and tried to guess how much I have to chop off. It took some trial and error (and more chopping off than I wanted to), before I had it right. Then I just couldn't decide how to hem the skirt. I wanted to have something like a lettuce hem, but didn't know how to archive this with the linen. I then settled on just turning the hem up once, because I wanted to avoid a stiff hem as much as possible.

But I just couldn't convince myself to hand stitch the hem on a full circle skirt! But I still wanted to have a hand stitched look (or rather invisible stitches). Thus I used the invisible hem stitch foot that came with my sewing machine. I didn't want to use this foot, because it doesn't give me a nice and neat finish. I can't say that it behaved - I had to go back and stitch a few areas twice, but in the end the result is alright. And I was faster by machine then by hand.

Do I like it? Yes I do! But not in combination with the Pink Burda Top that I made and that the model wears together with the skirt in the Burda magazine. I don't know why, but the skirt/top combination doesn't look good on me. You have to take my word, because I just couldn't take pictures of this mismatched ensemble!

But fret not! I still have some of the pink jersey left and now that I have finally gotten my hands on the Renfrew pattern, I will make a pink jersey top soon.

Yeah For Pink: Burda Kimono Top

Yeah for pink! Pink top, skirt and flowers :)

Pattern: Burda No 1 from Burda Style Special autumn/winter No5/2013. When I saw this outfit, I fell totally in love with it - with the top and the skirt. So today I am showing you the top, which I actually finished 2 month ago. The skirt I almost stitched up as well, just in time for the warmer weather.

Fabric: Some super soft and silky jersey which I bought in Goldhawk Road. It has an amazing drape and was only £3.50/m. I bought enough to make another shirt - probably a Renfrew.

Alterations: Unluckily, the smallest size for the top was size 38 and I am only a size 36 in Burda bodices. So, I graded the whole top down one size. I have no idea if I did it right, but I only measured the difference between the sizes 38 and 40 and then subtracted the difference from size 38 to get size 36.

Construction: I sewed the whole top on my overlocker, hardly looking at the instructions. The only thing I struggled with was the V-neckline. According to the instructions, I had to start and end attaching the neckband at the tip of the V and then somehow stitch the neckband together. After loads of swearing and hand stitching I managed to get kind of a V tip I could live with. If you have any tips about how to finish V-necklines of jersey garments - please share them.

To gather the sleeves and bust, I first basted with my sewing machine and then used my overlocker to attach the sleeves to the sleeve band. I finished the hem with my twin needle. Although the instructions didn't say so, I stabilised the shoulder and waist seams with clear elastic.

Do I like it? I do and have worn it already several times. It just makes me feel so relaxed and actually the top is the perfect garment for a lazy weekend. I have worn it already combined with jeans, a skirt and my weekend jogging pants.

Worn with my Colette Meringue.

Here come the Flamingos!

Finally, after hording this fabric for 6 month in my stash, I decided it is time to use it. It is not really the season for Flamingos now :) but I felt ready to tackle such a thin jersey.

Sorry for the wrinkles!

Pattern: Burda 0010 from Burda Style Special autumn/winter No5/2013. As I had used the pattern before to make my Burda raglan top, there was no need to trace the pattern - win. The dress has a keyhole opening at the back and a turtleneck!


Fabric: A thin jersey which I got from Goldhawk Road at the summers blogger meet-up. Several people bought the fabric and since then, I have seen some gorgeous projects popping up (Naturally, when trying to find them again, I couldn't). But somehow I was unlucky with my fabric, as one half of it was off grain. The flamingos were walking up :( But I managed to lay out my pattern on the half with the straight grain, yeah! (Anybody else ever had the problem?) Except for the turtleneck, which I had to cut out 4 times!

Turtleneck and Pleats.

Construction: Again I had problems with the shoulder pleats, but I think they are a bit better than last time. Otherwise, the dress came quite easily together up to the point where you have to attach the (naughty) turtleneck. I just couldn't get my head around the pattern notes and sewed the wrong seam twice. Then there was only one seam left, I hadn't sewn yet, which turned out to be the one meant. You actually have to sew a cylinder (with keyhole opening) before attaching it to the neckline and I somehow didn't expect that. Then there was a lot of hand stitching involved. Which kept me wondering, if there is a special stretchy handstitch? Because you stitch the turtleneck to the neckline on the inside and when you try to squeeze your head through, it will stretch! I couldn't find anything on the web, so just kept stitching little zigzags. And it stretches fine :) I also attached two buttons and loops to keep the keyhole opening closed.

You can just see the black button loops.

 Have I worn it yet? Yes, when going for some fabric shopping and tea with a friend. I still have to stabilize the shoulder seams with some cotton tape to prevent them from stretching. I just had to get some advice first, about how to do it :) Looking at the pictures now, I somehow think this blue is not a color that should go closely to my pale face, puh. I look a bit like a ninja in a pink flamingo dress :P

More detail pleats :)

 Will I make it again? Probably not, as there are more jersey patterns out there that I want to try! Lady skater dress, here I come!

At least the flamingos are straight :)

My first Burda jersey top!

I have been recently to the Richmond Theater to watch the play "Jeeves & Wooster" and because we arrived early, I had the opportunity to have a look into WHSmith. And what have I found among their magazines? A Burda sewing magazine. There were actually two issue, but I only liked the Burda Style Special autumn/winter No5/2013. So, I bought it.

I never used a Burda before, but heard already a few stories about how badly explained everything is. And forget about any nice illustrations! Never mind, I wanted to give it a try. I chose pattern 0010A, which is a jersey top. I decided to make it with long sleeves because I am always very cold in winter.

They made a fury jersey top.
In the left bottom corner you can hopefully
see the pattern.

The top has little pleats at the front and back of the sleeves and the sleeves go up to the neckline. The neckline is finished with a little strip of fabric and at the back you have a little slit that you have to close with button loops and button. According to my high bust measurement, I am size 34. So, I cut 34 at the bust and graded up to size 37 for the waist and hip. It was my first Burda pattern and I had no idea how good the fit would be on me :) But I think it is not bad!

Fabric: A dark purple jersey, which I bought at Goldhawk Road (which will go perfectly with my planned Beignet Skirt). It is a little bit thicker than the basic T-shirts you can buy in the shops.

Tracing: To begin with I had to trace the pattern (I always do anyway), because there were so many on top of each other. And it took me ages, especially because you have to add the seam allowances and then in the evening with no bright light, it was a bit difficult to see all the lines through my tracing paper. Also, at the sleeves pleats there was some weird shaping going on.

The placket is a bit stretched. Maybe I need a broad shoulder adjustment?

Construction: Apart from the pleats and necklines no problem at all. I used my overlocker most of the time and my twin needle only for the topstitching. As you will notice, my pleats don't look similar at all. I gave my best, but somehow they did whatever they wanted. Next time... (yep, there will be a next!) And the neckline? I think I might have misunderstood the instructions here, because it was very difficult to attach such a narrow neckband and also my neckline stands now slightly up. What about the placket and button loop? Weirdly enough the placket is pulled open. Probably because my shoulders need a bit more room? I might add another button/buttonloop here (the pattern instructions call only for one) and see if that helps.

Watch these pleats! I prefer the one on the right :)

Have I worn it yet? Yes, twice and I like it a lot. The only odd thing is that I can feel the sleeve seams. As the sleeves are not super tight, it can't be that. The seam is just a normal overlocked one, so maybe I can feel the threads? I was hoping the threads would soften after washing, but didn't. Did you ever have such a "problem"?

Will I make it again? Yes! I will make the dress version and I am finally going to use my flamingo jersey that I bought at the blogger meetup in Goldhawk Road in August!

PS: I am still thinking about making garments from my sewing list. But I am sure winter will be long...