It's About Time

As you can see, the title is a pun. Andrew has been asking me to sew him something for years, so I finally sewed him a shirt using a pocket watch print fabric. I decided a few years ago that I wanted to build my fabric stash, so I looked around on kijiji for people getting rid of fabric for cheap. I found a couple, so my friend Ally and I drove out to a stranger's house in Lower Sackville and raided her stash for about $1/m. This fabric immediately caught my eye for a shirt for Andrew because he loves novelty print shirts, and I bought him a pocket watch for one of our dating anniversaries.

When I took my second sewing class a while ago, I learned to sew a button up shirt. I haven't made one since, but The one that I created was very straightforward, no collar stand or sleeve plackets. When there was a pattern sale at Fabricville, I picked up a similar pattern in Andrew's size so that I still didn't have to learn how to do with more complicated/precise aspects of a button up. I then hid it out of sight because I felt guilty every time I looked at it.

Those who have watched LetterKenny might recognize this pose

I made a muslin because fitting a male body is unfamiliar to me. I basically had to do the opposite of what I do for me - let it out at the waist, leave a narrower waist and chest. Andrew and I now have matching muslins from an old sheet, with no closures and a single sleeve. I'm still trying to come up with a good Halloween costume to make with them. This fit pretty well out of the envelope - I graded out 2 sizes for his waist and added an inch in length, but those were the only alterations necessary. I might have added another inch, but I did not have enough fabric.

Another LetterKenny pose

I barely managed to eke out this shirt in the amount of fabric I had. Any major mistakes would have been fatal to Andrew's dream of a handmade button-up shirt. Luckily, my mistakes were all minor. The biggest one was accidentally cutting a hole in the shirt right below the collar. I patched it, and the location means that it won't likely be noticed, but I feel bad about it. The other obvious error is that the pocket is quite crooked. Andrew says he doesn't mind, so it's not a big deal, but next time I will be more careful with pocket placement.

I managed to convince Andrew to come to Fabricville with me to pick out buttons for the shirt. We decided on wooden buttons because we thought they suited it best, and picking out any other colour would have been difficult. I think the biggest disadvantage of completing this project is that Andrew likes it, and now wants me to sew more things for him. His next request is a Christmas poncho. What is a Christmas poncho, you ask? Apparently it's a Clint Eastwood as the Man with no Name style poncho made out of Christmassy fabric. This is why I have never heard anyone call Andrew unoriginal.

Details

Pattern: McCall's M6932 View B
Material: A really lovely rayon-like woven for $2 from a lady off Kijiji and wooden buttons
Modifications: Added 1 inch to the length and graded out 2 sizes at the waist
Learning: This was my first yoke! Also, be more careful with trimming seam allowances. And check pocket placement more carefully.

The crooked pocket