A Shirt for Deuce

Hello again. So apparently I am becoming a slightly less selfish seamstress (not that there is anything wrong with that ).  I wanted to make a shirt for my dear boyfriend, Deuce. This is my first attempt at McCalls 6044. 

I used black color snaps for the closures and I'm really pleased with their look. We did have a slight accident with application, however, when Deuce wanted to help. A broken snap tool and holey Ikea cutting table later...He is now only allowed in the sewing room for observational purposes (he got a little too enthusiastic with the rubber mallet).

The pattern does not call for bias pockets, but all the cool plaid shirts have them so I decided that they were a must. Also, the prospect of matching up pockets was a bit beyond my patience level and I knew that DB was anal enough to let unmatched pockets get to him. So I interfaced a scrap of fabric and cut the pockets and flaps from that so that they would not get warped or stretched. I like the look.

I did, however, attempt to match up the plaid at the center front. As you can see, to little avail. On a ridiculous note- the inside of the shirt matches perfectly. I guess I got my right and wrong sides mixed up. That's the problem with yarn dyed, I guess. On the bright side the horizontal lines in front match pretty well so at least it's as good as ready to wear.

Men's wear was not as fiddly as I had expected it to be, what with the collar stand and and cuffs and all. Admittedly this pattern did not require a sleeve placket, only a narrow hem at the end of the back sleeve seam, so I guess I'll talk about fiddly after I have tackled one of those.

Well, there's another for the "to done" list. So many projects, so little time. On to the next!

1912 Project: Evening Wrap

Hello, All! 

Finally, I have the pictures to prove that I have completed my 1912 Ladies' Evening Wrap. In order to make this blog post more effective, I have decided to use Pattern Review's pattern review rubric.

Pattern Description:
Evening Wrap/Jacket sort of thing.

Pattern Sizing:
Used the standard size and it fit perfectly. (I am normally and 8-10 in the big 4 and a 34-36 in Burda's digital downloads)

 

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Absolutely, though my "tails" were a bit wonky I think.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
The instructions that were there were easy to follow. However, a lot of the finishing I had to sort of figure out myself. For example: Turning under all those hems that weren't bound. I ended up using seam binding as a mini facing to turn the angles and hemmed out to either side. Also, Finishing the collar on the inside was tricky as well. Had to use seam binding on the inside raw edge and hand stitched it to the collar seam allowance. Would have been nice if there had been a facing to close up all those fiddly corners around the collar/lapel. Putting the tassels on was a sort of shot in the dark as well, had to figure that out on my own and I don't really like the finishing there either.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Only the piece itself (would have rather gotten a skirt or blouse, something that I could actually incorporate into my wardrobe- don't really see myself having an opportunity to wear this out)

Fabric Used:
Poly crepe back satin in a Burgundy and Poly Asian print brocade in black for the binding, collar, and belt.

Also used black tassels from the home dec section in JoAnn's and a shell buckle I inherited from my Great Aunt Ruth.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
None.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
I probably wouldn't sew it again based on the style of the piece itself, like I said before- not much call for it. I would recommend it to others if they were into wearing something like this.

Conclusion:
Interesting piece, but the finishing could use some work.

Photo credit: Deuce Bradshaw Photography