Shirt sewing

I am sorely in need of tops to wear. I seem to have the same 5 or 6 in constant circulation and they are getting very tiresome.

So I got to work making some shirts.

The pattern is Vogue 2634, which is out of print.

 

This is a really nice pattern, a good basic shirt. I made view C with the 3/4 sleeves. All versions have a classic two piece shirt collar and band. I had very few alterations to make, just a 1/2" taken out of the armscye area and the sleeve cap. I shortened the body 1" but after making this first version, I will keep the original length.

 

The fabric is a lovely fine cotton/lycra shirting from www.blackbirdfabrics.com in Canada. This is a small company based in Vancouver BC, offering quality dress fabrics, and wonderful service. In fact, I just saw a wool coating on that site that is so tempting. I am going to resist as I have this boiled wool coat in the making, but if I didn't, I would be jumping on this double-faced coating asap.

 

 

 I am going out of town for a couple of weeks, but if that coating is still there, I might just get some when I return. Beautiful coat fabrics are priceless in my opinion, and I am a real sucker for them.

 

The other shirt I have made is an older Jalie pattern, I think it is out of print as well.

 

 

I found the cotton fabric in my stash and cannot remember when or where I bought it. Just glad that I came across it while cleaning out a box and decided to give the Jalie pattern a try. Several members of our guild have made this shirt pattern and it looked good. I was pleased with my rendition of it.

 





Close up of the collar, which sits very nicely

 

You could use Jalie 3130 which is the latest shirt pattern from Jalie. It has a few more options than the pattern I used, but looks basically the same. Jalie patterns have all sizes from children to adults nested on the pattern, it is amazing to see how many sizes they get in there and you can also see how sizes grade up from one to another. It is rather fascinating. I was pleased with the fit of this shirt and will make it again.

 

 

Shirt making is very satisfying to me. I like the precise sewing involved and it is particularly gratifying to have the collar and band go on well with nice top-stitching to show it off.

 

Plus with shirts, you know that you can throw them in the wash time and time again, give them a quick press and they look great for a very long time.

 

I have a few more shirts planned for the fall/winter season, quickie projects to sew while working on the longer project - the coat!