Baby Blue for Real Men

The most surprising result of this project is not a reasonably well-fitting shirt, but the following: if you sew for others, you get to look at what you made all the time. Not just when you happen to look in the mirror. This is an aspect I hadn't thought of! Ofcourse this is only a good thing when you're satisfied with what you made. But otherwise, it's an extra advantage over sewing for yourself. Anyway, moving on to the long awaited shirt! The fabric is a medium weight knit jersey. Stef was a bit surprised it was he who picked this colour last year, but I think it suits him well.



First I tried making my own pattern from an existing shirt but failed miserably. So I used the Föhr pattern from Farbenmix (thanks for the tip, me.anna!) because I liked the shoulder patches (or how do you call these) and the different options you have with sleeves, neckline and pockets. I already knew what fitting issues I needed to tackle. This is what most of Stef's RTW shirts look like:

On fitting the Föhr pattern, I noticed the same problem: pulling at the armholes. I lowered the armholes by a good inch (meaning I also had to re-cut the sleeves). Other than that, the fit was pretty good. I didn't notice the folds hanging down from his chest though, come to think of it it could be due to the fact that I just enlarged the armhole, instead of also lowering the shoulder at the same time. Judging by this post, that could be it anyway. What do you think?

I went for the V neck because these suit him best. I spied the best technique over at Male Pattern Boldness: making the bias strip overlap seemed to be the easiest method, and I agree it looks more elegant.



I'm really pleased with this first attempt at a men's pattern! And, not unimportant, Stef is too. It's even his new favourite shirt! And I liked sewing for him much more than I thought I would. I felt confident with my skills and I felt I could handle potential criticism from my 'customer'. Both these things are the reason why I postponed this for a year. I knew Stef wasn't going to wear it just to please me. An honest customer is better in the end, so I think it was right for me to wait untill I could handle it. And now, to my own surprise, I'm already looking forward to the next Steftember project!

On Shopping

I WENT.

AND LOVED IT.


It truly has been two years and I thought I didn't need to, didn't want to, got over it. But I loved it and it made me happy. I GOTS MUSTARD PANTS, YO. Lovely, deep mustard. So gorgeous I want to swim around in it. (How come mustard is 'in' again this fall? Is that a sort of crisis measurement? So people can recycle their outfits from last year?). The way I shop has changed very much. I went and got 4 things that not only go together very well but can also be combined with things I made.
THIS IS A FIRST, PEOPLE. EVER.

Pretty birds! 

This blouse is flowy and transparant and has pretty birds. I want to make more of these blouses. They're great for layering and looking pretty. I also ordered a dark green blazer that goes with it (and the mustard) very well.



These are just a few things I grabbed from the closet. I bet the possibilities are endless. ENDLESS.


Sorry for shouting. Blame the mustard.

Steftember

For his 29th birthday, I promised to make him a shirt and pants. He just turned 30 and I still haven't made him anything. I figured he deserves a full month dedicated to projects just for him! I'll probably never make a promise like that again, but I have to keep this one. I would love to love sewing for others, but I just don't. Sewing is just something I do purely for myself. So that's how it is, I have to make a public declaration to get myself to sew for my boyfriend! How about that? Now that I've made it into something official though, I am actually looking forward to this themed month. I've been sewing a lot for myself these past months, and I could use the change. I'll be learning about men's patterns and fitting issues! I'll also sew a circle skirt for a friend, as a birthday gift. We went fabric shopping today, and it'll be very interesting to sew for someone with a very different style and figure.



Is it just me or is it hard to find nice mens patterns? These three are from Neue Mode. All 80's and 90's it seems, but at least they have patterns that are not button up shirts, blazers and pyjamas (sooo many patterns for pyjamas!) So, my question for you today is: what are your favourite men's patterns? I'm looking for a longsleeve and maybe 3/4 pants. I want to start simple, but maybe a hoodie would be cool too. I already have the Negroni, he actually wants to sew that one himself. But I might end up doing it for him anyway. I'm curious to hear about your experience with men's patterns!

Ultimate Batwings

At the end of the last 15:60 day I was tired, hungry and thirsty, but... very content! I really wasn't sure if I'd make it after spending 5 hours on the Chevron top. It was 3 PM and I still had to do the cutting, go to the store because I didn't have enough fabric and on top of that the pattern instructions were written in Japanese... But I didn't cave, my last project had to be this dress. Keep calm and sew on. In the end I finished it at 8 PM, spending only 4 hours working on it including cutting.



It's Dress no. 7 from Drape Drape 2. The one that was the inspiration for my folded miniskirt, after spotting it on Karin. The ever generous Tj sent me the pattern after making her fantastic version. I was so excited to finally have this pattern! I had this knit fabric, a remnant which said 200x155 cm, the exact amount needed for the pattern. Except that it was 2 meters wide instead of long. Argh! More reason to dislike that fabric store. So that meant I had to go out to get more fabric, and I had to cut the front piece in two. The sewing was pretty straightforward, and I was impressed with my serger being able to handle four layers of this medium weight knit.



It's still a bit too warm to wear this dress but I already know it'll be one of my favourites. I love wearing mini skirts in winter. And it's totally my style, a bit quirky but not just plain weird. I have to agree with Tj, it's a bit of a waste of fabric. But look at those batwings! They might even be big enough to fly. And if that doesn't work out, at least your skirt won't get pulled up if you reach for something.

And so this challenge has come to an end! It was fun to completely focus on sewing for two months. I was finally able to get most of the ideas floating in my head out there in reality, and reduce my stash at the same time. I'm also glad it's over though, it has left my sewing mojo at a very low level after this marathon. Plus I'm afraid I have become a bit of a hermit spending all my free time sewing and blogging. I may even have lost my mind a little...

(15:60 #15!)

Chevron Top

Did you know that a chevron is an inverted V-shape? And that it is also a term used in geology? And if that wasn't cool enough, did you know it's also a bone found in dinosaurs and kangaroos? I bet you didn't! It's got to be the most awesome pattern there is, right? What I made is actually not a chevron top; it's an inverted chevron. So that means it's an inverted inverted V-shape, i.e. a V-shape. But chevron sounds better, doesn't it? Or inverted chevron if you will.



I made this top on the last day of the challenge. I thought I'd do this one first, being the smaller project. However, it turned out to be the most time consuming! It took me 5 hours, without the cutting. My serger pulled some tricks on me so I had to do the neckline twice. I almost got really frustrated, but I quickly realized that I had to remain calm if I wanted to finish two pieces in one day. You just can't really pay attention if you're in a hurry, and that's when things are bound to go wrong.

As you can see, to create the V I cut the front of the shirt on the bias and connected them at the centre front. After reading some posts from others about sewing knits, I decided not to serge the whole thing, only the neck and armhole bindings. Knit seams don't need the finish, and the seam is less wobbly when you sew it with a straight stitch. It's a loose shirt, so I don't need the seams to stretch anyway. I like it this way, you need to think about the function of each seam and decide which approach is best.

I'm really pleased with how it turned out, it's super comfortable and simple but not boring. My goal for every garment I make, I guess :) The bias bindings worked out well, I used the Renfrew method. In fact, the whole pattern is again derived from the Renfrew. Matching patterns is not my favourite thing though. Allright, I really don't like it. Matching fabric is a pain if you ask me. It needs at least three attempts if you don't have a walking foot. But the result is very pretty, and that's what we're going for, right?

(15:60 #14)