Winter Shirt for Bob
Completed October 27, 2002
My wonderful husband Bob has long complained that I sew for everyone but him. So when he told me he doesn't have any warm shirts for the upcoming winter, I made one for him.
The pattern came from Tailor Made from Wild Ginger. Drafting shirts for Bob is always interesting because I have to remember that his right arm is nearly an inch longer than his left, so I have to draft two sleeve patterns and be very careful to keep tabs on which is left and which is right!
The fabric is a thick cotton that feels like chamois and has a flannel-like finish on both sides.
Here is Bob sitting at his computer enjoying his new shirt.
Instead of buttons at the cuffs and front, I used snaps. This was the first time I had used the purple SnapSetter tool and I LOVE it!! I got all eight snap sets attached in under half an hour, and that included marking the shirt.
Here's a front view.
I topstitched the pocket and the mock flat felled seams with a contrasting thread, just to make it look interesting. The shirt collar does not have a stand.
Here's the back view.
The shirt fits very well and doesn't pull across the back, even though it doesn't have a yoke.
Here's a close-up of the shoulder seam.
The sleeves were eased with the "ease-plus" technique I learned from Margaret Islander. They were sewn flat and the sleeves and side seams sewn afterwards. The side seam was also treated as a mock flat fell, with topstitching from hem to armscye.
I love the way the collar fits. It's one of the nicest ones I've done so far.
Now here's the "design feature" of this shirt: the plackets.
What makes this a design feature? Well, usually plackets are placed on the BACK side of the sleeve. Because I got confused when placing the first placket, it ended up on the wrong side. So I had to make the other one to match. Fortunately, Bob doesn't care! However, I do, and the next one will be done correctly.
He loves his shirt and has already asked for another just like it.