Panel Print Shirt Progress -- One Day to Go!

Speedy sewing has no special value in my book -- better to take your time and do a first-rate job.

That said, it is nice to be able to move through a project quickly because you're familiar with the steps plus you're home all day with a cold so you might as well sew.

The good news is I will have my shirt completed for tomorrow (Friday) night.  The bad news is I may be contagious so if you're attending the Pattern Review event at Elliot Berman Textiles, please don't kiss me.

You guys came up with some great suggestions yesterday about how I might lay out my panel print.  In the end, I decided to lay it out horizontally: darkest on the left sleeve and gradually lightening to the right.



For my topstitching, I used a combination of gray thread (for the darker sections) and white on the lighter sections.  There's so much going on with this print, an approximate match is fine.  I stitched a lot of samples to see what looked best.




I included a center button placket.  It provides a resting place for the eye, I think.



One sleeve is largely off-white:



The other is dark:



Here's how things stand as of this afternoon.





I actually completed the cuffs too, but I didn't get a photo of them: the sun goes down so early now (which is why some of these photos look grainy).

Tomorrow I'll make the collar and collar stand, stitch my buttonholes, attach buttons, and hem the shirt.  Then I'll pull on a pair of pants and off I go!

Michael said this is the nicest shirt I've ever sewn but he often says things like that when I'm working on a project.  I do think it's going to look cool when it's done.

For my pattern placement, I must give credit where credit is due: I was inspired in-part by the queen of the panel/border print, Carolyn -- and I believe she has made something with my very same fabric though I wasn't able to find it on her blog.



I hope I feel better tomorrow since, now that I have my shirt, I must attend that party.  I didn't even walk the dogs today: it was raining, so they did a half hour of treadmill.  I love that machine.



Have a great day, everybody!