Brown & Black Hawaiian Print Shirt

My Mother gave me this fabric from one of her trips to Hawaii in the 1990s.  See I use to ask my family for fabric when they travelled cause I thought it was a better souvenir than a t-shirt. Especially since I had small children at the time and wasn't going anywhere that wasn't family-oriented. This fabric sat on the shelves for almost 30 years. 

When my Mother brought it home, I had no idea what to do with it. I was still in the corporate business world and this just didn't fit into my creative process then. I touched this fabric in September when I was rambling through the collection, pulled it out and immediately cut it up. Starting the shirt before I left for Houston but the shirt shell sat since I returned. I finished this before Christmas because I wanted to include it in the photos my daughter was taking at the time.

Materials ~
3 yards ltwt. printed cotton from Hawaii - deep stash
Black bias binding leftover the Sienna Maker Vest
9 brown buttons from the button collection
Interfacing from Steinlauf & Stoeller

There are no new construction techniques in this shirt. This is mindless sewing. I can indulge in it and enjoy the process of sewing a garment I like wearing.

A few things ~
I only had enough bias binding to add to the collar.  I wanted to add it to the cuffs too but went with the flow.  That process is discussed in the construction of the Orange Issac Mizrahi Shirt.

o  This is the fitted back yoke version of the shirt. It felt right for this fabric instead of the full backed version.

o  I ran out of fabric for the inner back yoke so I cut it from some of the black shirting I have in the cave then added my label.

o  While I added width to the sleeves, this version does have buttoned cuffs. My last few shirts have had sewn on cuffs.

Pictures of the finished garment ~

My sewjo is now back and blazing ~ thank you Jesus! This was the perfect garment to make after my sewjo returned home. I truly enjoyed finishing this up. It will be perfect to add to my wardrobe and wear once my Holiday Break is over.

Worn with a RTW duster

One more thing, I don't know about you but my sewjo has become a part of my personality...who I am.  So I'm really off-kilter when it's gone too long. I do, however, realize that I'd become unbalanced by giving my sewing way more space in my life than anything else. 

One of the main things I've learned from this last sewjo vacation was that I need more balance in my life. I need to read more (like I've been doing recently), spending time watching my shows in real time instead of catching up later and making more excursions from the sewing cave. I go out but not enough. That way the next time my sewjo flees, hopefully it won't take as long to replenish my creative well...


...as always more later!