I made my husband another Fairfield Button-Up Shirt (affiliate link) for his birthday. The last one I made him was for his last birthday, and he still wears it all the time. Like the last time, I made him up a medium, graded to a large in the chest and waist. I sewed the sleeves at the prescribed length (last time I messed around bit with the length).
I sewed this shirt out of a cotton herringbone-weave shirting I picked up from FabricMart earlier this year. I cut very carefully, paying attention to plaid-matching. But my fronts aren't matched. I have no idea what happened. I was pretty bummed out about it at first, but I guess you see this in RTW all the time. So I'm trying not to sweat it (also, he didn't even notice). OK, I'm still kind of bummed out about it. But he still hasn't noticed and he wears this shirt nearly every weekend.
While I was cutting, I got the idea to do denim-look accents. I used the scraps of the tencel chambray I used for my Gallery Tunic as the accents (this was not the best idea; I had a lot of trouble wrangling the tencel along with the much-easier-to-sew shirting).
I ended up sewing the sleeve plackets, cuff facings and under-collar out of the tencel. I had also planned to make the inner collar stand out of the contrast fabric, but when it came time to attach it, it was so fiddly and fray-y that I gave up and cut a new collar stand out of the main fabric.
It was only when I was nearly done sewing the shirt, that I took a close look at my husband's old Fairfield while he was wearing it. I realized that, even if I had put a button on the collar stand, he would not have been able to button the collar. That wasn't going to be a huge deal for this particular shirt, since it was meant to be a casual shirt, but I had plans to make a second Fairfield that I had hoped he could wear with a suit and tie to work. It was a frustrating realization because I had made him a size large Fairfield a couple years ago, and that one was definitely too big in the shoulders. It was hard for me to visualize how to cut a size large collar while keeping the size medium shoulder, so I ended up sewing the All-Day Shirt instead.
I'm planning a separate post comparing the two patterns, so stay tuned for that one. And as always, thanks for reading, and see you next time!
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If you liked this post, check out one of these:
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| All-Day Shirt |
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| Fairfields on Vacation |
Looks good! And I love the contrast!!
ReplyDeleteI want to make my husband a shirt but am terrified of trying to alter a pattern to fit him. He is SO narrow through the neck and shoulders compared to the rest of his torso and his arms are insanely long. SHould be a "fun" challenge :)
Happy Birthday to your husband!
Thank you! The contrast was so fiddly to sew because of the fabric I chose, so I'm glad that it makes a good impression at least.
DeleteLOVE this! I actually think you did a great job matching the plaid, though I know from your past projects that you are a stickler on this!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I know that we are our own worst critics so I'm trying to let it go.
DeleteI think if you use the large collar and stand, and trace the neckline curve of the size L, you can leave everything else the same (no blending needed). It might lower the collar about a quarter inch though? I'm not sure, but it might be worth quickly muslining it that way if you're happy with the rest of the shirt.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds relatively simple. Thanks for the idea! I could not get my head around it on my own.
DeleteEine ganz tolle Arbeit, und auch noch mit Karomuster. Mein Kompliment. Tolles Hemd. Auch die Idee mit dem Kontraststoff gefällt mir sehr gut. LG Delia
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteThis reminds me that I ought to make another fairfield shirt soon! It's a great pattern.
ReplyDeleteI agree, but I think there are some real problems with the fit/size chart.
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