negroni shirt for james
hey everyone!
i’ve finally finished james’s shirt!
i’ve wanted to make him this shirt for ages (it may or may not be because i wanted to know why everyone was raving about the sleeve plackets…) but i couldn’t find a fabric that i thought james would like.
a couple of weeks ago i popped into guthrie and ghani for the pattern on my way home from a course i had to go on for work. i bought the pattern and had a mooch at the fabrics, but didn’t see anything james would like. so i thought i’d swing by barry’s on the way home from moseley and i ended up buying two lots of fabric.
it was either this cotton linen mix, or a light weight denim. he went for this one because it is super soft!
i found it pretty tricky to cut or do anything with this fabric because it was such a loose weave. i cut it out but once i started sewing the pockets i knew i was going to have to do something to help myself out. just so i could make a start on the sewing, i interfaced the pocket flaps and i think they look crisp and smart so i’m not annoyed i had to do that!
i left the shirt until i had got a chance to go to asda to buy some spray starch. i’d read about it online and knew it might help with the fraying and the shifting so i gave it a go.
the starch really helped me, it was definitely worth buying.
i made the shirt over several sessions. i really didn’t want to rush it! when i’m making things for other people i don’t take shortcuts.
here it is, james’ blog debut!
i hunted him down before he went out to football training haha.
i’m calling this shirt an “on the hanger” success. it’s not a real success when it’s on him.
I PUT THE BUTTONS ON THE WRONG SIDE FOR A START! you can tell because the loop is on the right side… haha.
also the sleeves (as you can see) are miles too big! would you believe i already took 3 inches off the length of them?! there’s a lot of excess we could pinch out next time.
the chest fits well and i like the length on him too. if i make another one for him, i’ll pick a more stable fabric and do more regular fittings as i’m going along. it’s difficult to fit it as we don’t live together, so i can’t just bug him to stand while i pin it in place.
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| demonstrating the “real” way to roll sleeves up! |
the good bits that i’m proud of are the collar and the plackets. definitely the plackets. i know why everyone raves about them now; the instructions are extremely clear, and you get such a clean, professional finish from them.
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| mmmm plackets |
i don’t know why i’ve specified those as my favourites, because i’m actually really proud of my work on it. it’s just a shame it doesn’t fit him perfectly!
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| who knows why the centre is popping off to one side! this shirt baffles me. |
i’m not as unhappy as i thought i would be with the fit issues, but i know i made this shirt to increase my skill set as well as james getting something out of it, so it’s served one purpose at least!
i think he might be able to get the most wear out of it with the sleeves rolled up and with it undone over a tshirt or something.
i’m going back to making things for myself next time!!!
happy sewing!