23 November 2015

My Thanksgiving Shirt

Butterick 5526 - View C
Collar detail
In four hours, guests will begin arriving from different parts of the country to spend a long week with us at Paz Casita in Temecula, in celebration of Thanksgiving.  The house is near ready; however...I have worked on this shirt from cut to finish, off and on for the past three days, whereas I should have been focused on detail prepping for company.

What's done is done (the shirt) and I still have four hours to do EVERYTHING ELSE!  At least I have already managed grocery shopping. That's been my frenzied dedication to mastering shirts. I'm going to wear this one as soon as I wash the dog and hop in the shower, after I do everything else of course.

This shirt, Butterick 5526 - View C, is sewn from a fine cotton, pale lavendar pinwale corduroy, with a polka dotty cotton inner collar for accent.  As I worked on this shirt, I realized why we have moved toward knits and other more forgiving fabrics, ones don't require special attention or fussing.  It's from the same pattern as my last shirt, different fabric and detail.  Next, I'll move on to making a shirt for hubby.  He's been very forgiving of me spending so much time to finish this shirt.  I can see in his eyes a longing for a cozy, warm flannel shirt of his own.

Doubt I'll be posting (or sewing) any time soon this holiday week.  Wishing all of us a HAPPY THANKSGIVING, and God bless each of you!!!

18 November 2015

Butterick 5526 - Shirt View C


Still sewing shirts...here's #3 in a row, this time Butterick 5526 (View C), with pleated pockets added to front of shirt.  Must note that I purchased an online class, Pam Howard's "The Classic Tailored Shirt," from Craftsy.com.  This gave me confidence, especially in the areas of collar application, finishing sleeve seams, and topstitch/edge stitch application, things I had struggled with.  I'm happy with the result.  Probably should have ironed that shirt before posting; the fabric is a cotton oxford cloth and actually presses out very nicely.



07 November 2015

The Blouse Perfected - Cutting Line Designs #11226

 
Here's my second shirt, all finished.  After this shirt, I have become such a fan of designer Louise Cutting and her pattern line, Cutting Line Designs.  Some of her recommended sewing techniques for this shirt, such as how to apply the collar to the collar stand, as well as how to join the sleeve to the body of the shirt at the underarm, were different from the norm, or at least what I am used to. Otherwise, this shirt was surprisingly easy to put together.  I love the asymetric fold in the front.  A good fit!  Onward to shirt #3.