A New Shirt for Mr. SDSC

I have been promising to sew a shirt for Mr. SDSC for as long as I can remember.  He really is a good sort.  He built me some great units in my sewing room to house my fabric collection/patterns etc., he doesn't complain when I disappear into said room for hours at a time, he is the main photographer on my 'shoots', and even helps me pin garments in areas I can't see/reach.  So, after many pleas from him, I splashed out the cash on the Tailored Shirt Class from Craftsy which included Kwik Sew 3422.

I dipped in and out of the Craftsy class (I haven't seen it all the way through yet!!) and also referred to a fabulous You Tube video by a great lady called Jacqueline Johnson.  Her way of attaching a collar is fabulous - I had really 'tight' edges.  Thank-you Ma'am!

A request was made for this shirt to just have a collar stand - no actual collar, so I was happy to oblige  I also decided not to add the front pocket.  I'm like that!!  The fabric is a woven cotton that I bought from Marshall's when I was in Edmonton on a business trip.

I am really pleased with this shirt.  It came together surprisingly easily and looks rather professional.  I used the seam allowance that the pattern had built in - 1/4" and my 1/4" foot - easy peasy!  Some of the seams (adding the sleeves to the armholes and the side seams) I serged and then sewed down those seams.  That gave a 'faux fell' seam look that is great for this wearable muslin.

Comments from the man himself?  He loves it (phew)!  He likes that it is longer than most of his other shirts - which is good as he is just over 6ft and needs the length.  The thought that the sleeves were a little baggy in comparison to his RTW shirts, so I will take a look at them and try a slimmer sleeve next time round.

My thoughts?  I would like to try fitting the yoke to his shoulders and upper back.  I think that would make the shirt hang better.  I need to be more aware of lengths - for example the plackets were fitted, the cuffs added and then I realized that the placket lengths were a slightly different - not enough to cause a problem, but I just need to measure the length prior to attaching the cuff.  Other than that, I can't recommend strongly enough Kwik Sew 3422, the Craftsy class, the Jacqueline Johnson video and also David Coffins' Shirtmaking book.  I will certainly be making this again and although this took quite some time, I am sure that I can shave a lot of time off the process next time round.  I have a lovely black cotton poplin with just a touch of lycra in it and I think that would look great.

Outtakes

This was Mr. SDSC's first photo shoot - he is usually on the other side of the camera, so he found it kind of hard to concentrate . . .

More info can be found on Pattern Review and I've loaded and more photos on Flickr.

Final view:

Mr. SDSC asked for a label to be inserted.  Your wish is my command, Sir :)