Shirts

 So many ups and downs this year but the latest project has been fun!  

"Can you make me a sh*t shirt mum?"  "Well actually you can make us all one if you want for our boys weekend".  Here's a few of them:

 McCalls 8409

 

 McCalls 7720

 McCalls 7720

 

McCalls 7720

I hardly do any dressmaking but the eyes aren't so good for embroidery these days so I may be doing a bit more .............. I'm rather pleased with these :)

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I've used McCalls 8409 before ............ it comes up big, very big!  However, the collar sizes are pretty normal for the pattern size ................. small is a 15" collar but the chest measurement of the shirt is 49" .......... not exactly proportionate!

The Palmer Pletsch 7720 2 hour shirt is a much better fit for the smaller sizes though I'm not keen on the lack of front band.  If I were to make more I might think about drafting one.  I used the two piece collar.  I couldn't envisage me ever finishing one of these in two hours but I do prefer a nice finish (French seams etc.).

Christmas Stuff

Shirt no. 1 .............
 

Shirt no. 2 was nearly finished when I noticed my fingertips had devloped a navy tinge ................. from the batik print!  First thoughts were that it would probably be ok for an initial wear (with jeans) but then my husband said "what if it rains?".  Oh yeah!  So it's been in the washing machine and lost quite a lot of dye but still looks ok (pic is prewash) so it's just waiting for some buttons.

A wallet (or purse) ............. just a few French knots acting as random "quilting" stitches.

Opened out .........

A present from her mum for her first married Christmas, mum decided to redress her 1961 Christmas tree fairy but this is as far as it got!

I'm going to redress her but not with the old bits of lace in the pic ............ something more in keeping with her time (evident from her facial features and hair) I think.
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Daisy Shirt Done

With one model asleep and lack of co-operation from the other here's the coathanger version (not without a little fault or two but I have spent more than enough time on this now)
 

Never did I imagine that a shirt would cause so many problems.  It's not the pattern, nor the making up but the fabric ............. at least I hope it's the fabric and not the machine.  I have the machine back .......... the repair guys in the dealers say it's fine but I'm not sure ......... there's something that just doesn't feel right.  The local man who serviced it first, said it probably needed a new shuttle hook (mine was plastic and they're replacing them with metal now) as it had a few nicks in it so he tried filing it down.  As far as I know, those nicks had been there for ages without problem and you can't file down plastic successfully hence I could actually hear the thread catching when I got it back.  At the dealers, it has had a service, overhaul and resetting of the timing plus a new shuttle hook yet took me three and a half hours plus microtex needles to try and get a decent stitch on this simple printed cotton fabric.  It's ok on the white and yellow print but on the dark colours it's dreadful still without 5 or 6 layers ........... such resistance to the needle? 

There isn't a machine in the Argos catalogue (not that I would buy one from Argos) that costs as much as I have just spent on mine ........... no wonder I've been in tears and beginning to think that some of them might stitch better than mine is at the moment!  I need to play around with some more fabric.

I found Jan Messent's new book in the library on Saturday ................ it is absolutely wonderful - a must have for the Christmas list (not that I'll be doing one this year) and confirms this is where my heart really lies ........ finding a happy medium between the eyes and the heart is the problem!

Another Christmas shoebox filled - just one more to go now.  The patchwork pencil case is a lovely idea Anne - our daughter was almost obsessed with pens & crayons of all sorts throughout her school years - I might give a little more time and thought to making some a bit more imaginative for next year if I remember (and find the time)!

I am now going to do something normal to destress over the shirt ........... put some washing on and make some fresh crab cakes for dinner .............. then start thinking more about mum's up and coming birthday!
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McCalls 8409 Mens Shirt

Well, we have a shirt!  I'm kind of impressed that I made a shirt too (thankyou ladies) - I made a blouse at school (about 35 years ago) but this is my first shirt!  And it fits ............. it may not be a tailored fit but my husband likes it and I'm rather pleased with it too .............

It fits number 2 son as well but, despite promising to only show the shirt, I wasn't allowed to take a pic!

 I used McCalls pattern 8409 ............... it comes up really big, I mean REALLY big so had to go down a size. The only thing I changed was to straighten the hem (by request so the shirt would be more suitable for wearing "out" when wanted). There were a couple of glitches along the way so, more to remind myself than anything else ...........

Not wanting to cut the actual pattern to the smaller size I laid some of this garden fleece over and cut it out in this BUT I didn't mark it so mistakenly used one of the front pieces to cut the back on the fold in fabric ........... luckily it was the front pattern piece I'd used so was able to reuse the fabric for the (smaller) back.  Matching the sleeves to the bodice was a little tricky and, despite my very best efforts, still had about an inch overlap on the seam - ideally I would have liked to French seam the armholes like I did the side seams but couldn't work out how best to do it so they are zigzag finished.  The buttonholes as marked on the pattern are a teeny bit large for shirt buttons so will try and remember that for next time.  

Now I can breathe for a bit!!!!!!!!!!!
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UFO Resurfaces

Two years ago I blogged about a UFO.  Well it keeps resurfacing so it's out and I'm working on it!  Not quite to plan as I've already unpicked some stitching done last night and this morning (not neat enough ............. the eyes again!) so just needs rethinking a bit but I shall plough on.

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And for inspiration I pulled out a jar of my hand dyed threads.  I have more jars of these ............ and boxes .............. and ................ one might think I have a problem but I'm not the only person in the world obsessed with dyeing threads and yarns.  It's the magic of mixing colours on different fibres with a delightful surprise at the end because they never turn out exactly the same.  Good job I've got quite a stock of them having recently had a compulsory water meter installed!

Of course I have to mention the shirt.  There were problems with the stitching across the grain (the vertical bits in the pic).  It seemed a bit bizarre that with the grain was fine as was any other fabric so I asked on the Sewing Forum and it's been suggested that I try a Microtex needle.  It's a decent fabric (Italian shirting) so could be because it's tightly woven/high thread count now I've looked into it ................. shall remember to get some of those needles when we're out on our travels.

It was quite good to do some "dressmaking" and, though I have more to do, I won't be going into mass production ............ it's not quite the same and I didn't realise how difficult it would be to find some decent shirt buttons at a sensible price (two towns exhausted this week alone)!
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Shabby Chic

Well, the cushion front is done!  Not sure about the "experimental" centre panel - should have spent more time thinking about it - but it's done now and doesn't look too bad in reality.  I could add a central button but doubt it would stay there very long in this house!

Not quite the luxury of some faux chenille but not bad for an old sheet and might improve with age - there's not much that comes with a label "Must Tumble Dry"!

Another sample ..........

I have ideas for more faux chenille .......... a lap blanket would be nice for the winter evenings if the fabrics weren't too heavy ........... too many ideas too little time!

The shirt ............. I'm still looking to pluck up enough courage to cut out the real thing!  I already had the pattern (well 2 actually) but didn't have any intention of using them anytime soon when we saw this Italian shirting.  I am thinking grandad collar and suggested that it might go with the navy suit for a wedding we are attending shortly so need to get my skates on and fingers crossed!

I bought a metre of this lightweight cotton just because, like you do, and himself thought he'd like a shirt in this so I got some more ....................

I picked up some lovely quilting cotton - kitchen blind in mind but thinking it would make a lovely sleeveless summer dress for a toddler when himself said he would really love a shirt in this ................ now this is juxtaposition!!!

So we now have enough fabric for 3 shirts!  Toile also fits no 2 son who would like "loads" of shirts ............ plain, striped, check, not too heavy - just like the toile ........... well apart from the pattern!  Steady on eh ............. fabric don't come cheap and I'm only gonna live once!!
 

Ooooops ...................

Recycling one worn cotton sheet into a luxurious faux chenille cushion .............

 Revisiting possible designs for cutting on the bias .....................

  

So why did I mark out, stitch and start cutting the middle square on the straight (not sure what's happened to the pistachio green in this pic)?

Will be interesting to see how I rescue it!  My excuse is that I was distracted by somebody in the kitchen making these ...............

From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook bought from here using a free delivery voucher found here .  I have to say that it's a lovely book.

And on another positive note (at least for the moment) ............. the toile I made for my husband's shirt using McCalls pattern 8409 seems to fit ok ............ well after I lopped 4" off the width.  The pattern comes up big ......... well not just big but huge so have gone one size smaller than comparable RTW.

The sleeve length is about  right so I'll have to add some extra seam allowance and am going to get rid of the curved bottom (by request).

Oh, and I won't be using a relatives old quilt cover for the real thing!
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