Not a whole lot to report on this end, I'm afraid. I cut my shirt fabric yesterday and started stitching. I'm using my tried-and-true vintage shirt pattern, Butterick 4712, but this time incorporating a sloping shoulder adjustment. I hope that turns out well.
The fabric, which I believe is cotton lawn, is rather sheer and loosely woven and can stretch easily. I'm staystitching in the obvious places (like the neckline) and trying to limit handling. Originally I had planned to do the whole thing in lavender, but today I'm thinking of doing the collar and collar stand in white to give the shirt a little zing.
I have some soft, white cotton (lawn?) left over from a collarless shirt I made last summer, roughly the same weight and quality.
I get a lot of wear out of the shirts I sew -- Michael even more so. I hardly ever wear knit shirts anymore. I find them uncomfortably clingy in hot weather compared to a cool, crisp, woven cotton shirt, and I never feel well-dressed in knits.
Here's how things stand as of yesterday:
I don't think I'll finish this shirt today, but hopefully over the weekend. I'm still not sure if I want this to be long sleeves or short (which is so much easier).
Michael and I saw a fantastic HD filmed version of Stephen Sondheim's Company starring Neil Patrick Harris at the movie theater last night -- truly wonderful. (Oh, and Jon Cryer from Pretty in Pink was in it too -- eerie!)
I go to the movies about once a year if you can believe it, so this was a very special experience. There are some things that one can't entirely appreciate on a 13" computer screen, I must admit. Do you still go to the movies? I can't stand the commercials and the films generally have a visual (and aural) intensity that stresses me. I'm also not into guns, explosions, car chases, bathroom humor, or animation. What's left?
Readers, I'm eager to get back to my shirt project as I don't have much time for sewing today and I'm most alert in the morning and early afternoon. I rarely stitch anything in the evening that doesn't have to be ripped the following morning.
Happy Friday, everybody, and happy sewing!
UPDATE: Collar on -- snazzy!
Lavender with a white collar sounds fab and I agree that a nice crisp woven is cooler in the summer. Can you believe that I am finally sewing up the camp shirt for my husband that I started in the SewAlong!
ReplyDeleteI don't go to the movies either. They are just too expensive plus I have to admit to a phobia about bedbugs and lice in the local theaters.
i don't go to the movies either - i think the last movie i saw in the theater was 'district 9' (spoiler: i cried at the end! LOL!). i don't mind the bathroom humor, but i haaate watching action movies that have a lot of explosions in them. the messes make me feel anxious for the people who had to clean then up.
ReplyDeletei sound like a real winner right now. haha!
i like going to the movies but i hate those mall type mega-plex's. There are two local little independent cinemas that i'm fond of. One offers a movie club with cheap entry tickets of which i'm a member and the other is a 4 theatre cinema in an art deco building with all the original or refitted fixtures! The bathrooms are a rich red velvet delight LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm currently trying to finish of a finished child's coat which i made in ink denim...for the life of me i can't seem to focus and get the button/shanks done! Apart from the darn buttons, it's all done...i have no idea what to do with it since my daughters are 18 and 21. i incorporated several tailoring techniques into it and it's turned out beautifully with a bright red & white quilting cotton lining...so very 'now' and yet so very retro at the same time. *sigh* why couldn't i sew like this when my girls were little???
My husband and daughter love going to the movies. I am happy to wait for it to come out on Netflix. Your shirt is coming along beautifully by the way.
ReplyDeleteI love my handmade shirts. Its all I wear, too. Once you get the fit right, you can crank them out! :D
ReplyDeleteSusie Wong, how about contacting your local foster kids agency? In my area one of the store chains has a coat drive for them every fall.
ReplyDeleteThe shirt looks gorgeous! Lavender and white is cool looking as well as feeling.
I love the white lawn shirt and I love how the new one is turning out-- you'll look great!
ReplyDeleteI still go to the movies, I like being with other people and hearing their reactions. I always bring earplugs, though, and a jacket-- it's too loud and too cold in the theaters out here.
Oh, I think the collar in white was a perfect idea - it really looks sharp!! And I agree with you 1,000% about clingy knits in hot weather - ick.
ReplyDeleteMy hubby and I are going out for pizza (I have to bribe him somehow) tonight, and the pizza place just "happens" to be across the street from a great JoAnn fabric shop. Now, I have to travel 50+ miles to get there, so I'm going to take my time and browse thoroughly (I'm SO excited!)...hope hubby wants to nap :)
As for movies, the last one I saw in the theater was the last Indiana Jones movie - what about 3 or 4 yrs ago?
Have a great weekend, Peter. I'll be anticipating your return.
I hate going to movies in theatres. The audience is annoying, the ads irritating beyond belief, the seats and floor sitcky, and the audio/visual assault just too much. Not to mention I don't like mainstream USA films at all. Just give me a nice, small screen and some subtitles and I'm a happy camper.
ReplyDeleteThe shirt looks beautiful.
I'm with you, Peter, except that I can go much, much longer than a year without seeing a movie-theater movie and not feel a single pang of regret. I saw The King's Speech on a airplane and even then I felt it was only good for passing the time. I love the old 40s and 50s movies, though. They're MUCH more fun!
ReplyDeletePale lavender with a white collar seems very summery indeed.
I also saw "Company" last night and I'm on the other side of the country. This hi tech is amazing- It was shown all over the country on the same night! Can't wait to be in NY next wk. Trying not to hone in on fabric... Love your work!
ReplyDeleteThe shirt's looking fabulous, Peter! I really like the contrast of the pale lavender shirt with the crisp white collar.
ReplyDeleteLike almost everyone else commenting here, I too, dislike going to a theater, sitting too long gives me numb bum. The last one I saw on the big screen was The Stepford Wives the second one, and it was immediately forgettable. I would much rather wait for a movie to come out on DVD, and watch it in a comfy chair with a dog in my lap and not spend a fortune on junk food.
ReplyDeleteI like going to the theatre, but due to cost I will usually wait until it's something I REALLY want to see. Also, not all movies are theatre-worthy -- I won't bother if it's a slapstick comedy, for example. But movies like Titanic or Avatar? NEED TO BE SEEN IN THE THEATRE. I would add LOTR to that as well. The big screen and surround sound add a lot to the experience.
ReplyDeleteThe shirt looks amazing, and I think the white collar was the right call. You are doing cuffs too, right?
I'm going to see "Company" tonight, too! I am really spoiled RE movies because we have the AFI theater about five minutes from home -- we only go there or to a couple of other places that show independent films. I dislike watching movies at home -- I'm always thinking of other things I could be doing.
ReplyDeleteNice shirt. The white sets off the lavender.
I love the lilac and white colour combination for the shirt - very fresh and cool looking. I rather like going to a movie theatre (we call them cinemas here) - I enjoy the whole plush seating, big screen, holder for my drink, thing. My husband and I get frozen yoghurt and Starbucks coffee then eat hamburgers after the movie!
ReplyDeleteJazzy shirt. The colors work wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteWith you on the infrequent theater attendance.
Saw Tom Ford's "A Single Man", and that was worth the theater nuisances. The cost/benefit of modern movies houses is usually in the favor of somewhere where I'm "less captive".
You said: " I'm also not into guns, explosions, car chases, bathroom humor, or animation. What's left"
ReplyDeleteeh? Boobs? (Sorry, couldn't resist!)
The last movie I actually remember seeing at the theater was Titanic. There have been maybe two or three others since, but I can't remember what they were' but that should tell you how oftem I go to the movies. Oh, Memoirs of a Geshia was one...
Just have to compliment your perfect collar stand/shirt front junction. That's always the hardest thing for me to get just right in a tailored shirt.
ReplyDeleteI adore going to the movies. I always feel more immersed in the film when it's on the big screen...never even entered my mind to worry about bedbugs or lice!!! Yuck! But most of the movies I see are from Netflix, at home.
The white collar on the lavender shirt looks great. If you can make the time and think you’ll wear long sleeves in a New York summer, I’d go for contrasting cuffs as well. There’s something really spiffy and sharp about white collar and cuffs against another colour. In fact, I'm psyching myself up to unpick from my black with white stripes shirt the white French cuffs and collar where the iron-on interfacing has bubbled. It looked so good when it was finished (before the first wash revealed the imperfect fusing) that rather than throw it away I just have to do it again with sew in interfacing.
ReplyDeleteI like going to the cinema in the times when the audience will be small. One of the best film experiences I ever had was my first viewing of ‘The African Queen’ at a 5 pm session along with maybe six other people. We started looking nervously round the theatre in case we were trapped with five lunatics, but by the end we were so bonded that as Hepburn and Bogart got married we all stood up and cheered!
I love your shirt pattern Peter! So much, that I just found one for $4 on etsy and bought it! I am going to use my pattern fairy skills to size it down for my 10 year old son! Keep on inspiring me, you do a fabulous job of it!
ReplyDeleteWhere I live, the only movie theatre for miles around is a converted funeral home. It has deep, comfortable upholstered seats, allows well-behaved pets, and is generally really fun to go to. That said, we tend to watch a lot of movies at home. Wine and popcorn . . .
ReplyDeleteValerie from PNW, whose google account won't let her post
Lawn: loose weave? I'd have thought it would be described as tightly woven... Something worth checking. Beautiful shirt, though. Nice job.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, when I go to the movies (very occasionally) it tends to be to my local independent, a tiny movie theatre established in the 1930s: http://tinyurl.com/6y8mxur Wish You Were Here!
ReplyDelete