Meet Ed, our dear neighbors Irma and John's son-in-law, who's visiting this week with his wife from California.
I'm making two shirts for him, and this is the first, in a fine handkerchief-weight plaid linen.
Ed wears a Size 44 shirt (the 44 refers to his chest measurement), which corresponds to a 16-1/2" neck. Ed's neck is 17-1/2 inch, so I had to widen the neck (by lowering it in front in Ed's case) to add 1" to the circumference of the neck band and collar. This worked out beautifully.
Here's Ed in the shirt yesterday before I added the collar. You can see that it comes up too high, even accounting for a 3/8" seam allowance, the allowance I generally use when making collars. The white pinhead just below the brown stripes is the approximate point to which I lowered the neckline.
I used a contrasting floral linen for the inside cuffs and collar stand. The darker blue in the floral is a perfect match for the blue stripe in the plaid.
A big thank you to my readers who recommended using spray starch to prevent excessive shifting of my plaid. I don't know how I would have successfully cut the collar and stand without it. The stripes on the outside collar are perfectly symmetrical.
Ed has the squarest shoulders I've ever encountered -- perfect for the cut of this shirt.
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| Before collar and cuffs. |
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| After adding collar and cuffs. |
I'll be making one more shirt for Ed, who leaves NYC on Sunday. Not sure I can complete it by then, but I hope to get started.
A big thank you to Ed for agreeing to be photographed for this blog. My clients so far have been very good sports!
Have a great day, everybody!
Posts
Hey Ed, Once you go custom you never go back!!!! Great fabric combos Peter! You killed it!!
ReplyDeleteGreat job Peter. Love the fabric, and the fit.
ReplyDeleteI learn so much from your blog, Peter. Ed looks fantastic in his new shirt. I especially like proportions of the collar and that yummy chocolate and blue color way. I'm inspired to get started on that shirt fabric I got on MPB Day for Jon.
ReplyDeleteI had missed the part where you make the cuffs and then attach them. I like that so much better than the way I've done them (for about as long as you have birthdays). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWow! I really like this shirt. You go, Peter!
ReplyDeleteI like this shirt. The yoke cut on the diagonal is the finishing touch.
ReplyDeleteThe yolk, the collar, the cuffs, the plaid matching. I am in awe!!
ReplyDeleteA very well-made shirt, especially considering the shifty weave of this fabric and it looks great on him. I think he'll be very happy with that alteration to fit his neck.
ReplyDeleteI have some experience with that: My boyfriend has a neck circumference which, according to most sizing tables, belongs to two sizes bigger than his chest measurement so he could never buy a well-fitting shirt RTW.
Such a beautiful shirt Peter. I bet Ed is very happy with it!
ReplyDeleteIt's a beautiful shirt Peter. I love the contrast fabric used like that and it's a great way to use up scraps too. I learned another tip for keeping plaid in place for sewing, temporary spray adhesive. It works on everything but silk. You can use paper templates to keep it from getting all over and keeping it on the seam allowances. It just disappears over night.
ReplyDeleteHow about a comment from Ed?
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful shirt. Ed smiling says it all. My eye is slow to ajust to the contrast fabric. I need to catch uip.
ReplyDeleteHi there,
ReplyDeleteI'm Toni and I'm from Yorkshire, England. I run a small sewing blog and I wrote a little bit about what I like about you and your blog. I have already published the post - as I'm teeny tiny I thought it wouldn't matter but then I realised it would be proper blogger etiquette to ask, so if you mind (I hope you don't!) I'll take it down.
Thanks.
Toni
http://tonisewsclothes.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/without-these-blogswhere-would-i-be.html
I love it! Thank you, Toni, I'm very flattered.
DeleteEd looks good in his shirt-- I love the fabric and the facings. As always, it makes your client look rich.
ReplyDeleteIs this the Irma who sometimes shares her cooking with you and the mister, and may have guided you to calling about a really great sewing machine??
ReplyDeleteShe's a magnet of good fortune; as further evidenced by Ed himself.
One and the same!
DeleteWow! Just an immaculate and lovely job, Peter. I am so amazed at the match at the sleeves and even the collar plaid matches the body of the shirt. Fabu!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shirt. Great job matching!
ReplyDeleteAnother tip for handling shifty fabrics, specifically for cutting interfaced pieces such as collar, stand, and cuffs, is to block fuse. That means interfacing a large piece of fabric, then cutting out those smaller pieces; this allows you to cut much more accurately and quickly. I use it when cutting sheer and silky fabrics too, just make sure the fused fabric is straight and on grain.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful shirt! I love the contrasting bits on the inside!
ReplyDelete