The Angel Shirt Finished

Here is the completed shirt ~

Let's start with a few details.  I purchased 3 yards of extra wide cotton sheeting from Fashion Fabrics Club back in November. The print on the fabric is what intrigued me and even though it was sheeting fabric, I thought it would make a great shirt.

This is one of the reasons I like shirtmaking so much! You can use such a wide variety of fabrics to make one. I also have to admit that this one has been challenging right from the get go. I've had to make more adjustments, changes to my vision and purchasing new supplies to get to this point.

Supplies ~
11 1/2" red 4 hole buttons from Pacific Trimming
Red bias binding from Pacific Trimming
Interfacing from Steinlauf & Stoeller

Construction ~
This shirt is all about how I used this interesting print to make a wearable shirt.

A couple of things:

o  This fabric is a little heavier than regular cotton fabric. At first that threw me because I was expecting a softer, lighter hand. Then I realized it made a good layer for a winter shirt since it has a little heft to it.

o  While I fussy cut this to make the most of the print, I did face some obstacles.  The first was when the fronts didn't match. The second was when the original cut out collar did not match the front of the shirt.

Here is how I fixed it:

- I didn't have any scraps long enough with the roses on it to cut another collar which is the theme of this shirt.

- But I did have scrap pieces with roses on them. I decided to attach the scraps to the front of the collar.

- I was concerned that attaching the scraps to the collar would leave one edge exposed. So I looked around the sewing cave to see what I had onhand to cover the edge. I found some rick rack that worked but it really wasn't the look I wanted.

- For the red bias binding and buttons, I headed to Pacific Trimming. I threw my original vision for the shirt out and moved in another direction.

- I added the bias binding to the collar with two rows of stitching on either side of the bias binding.  Before I sewed the two collar pieces together then assembled the collar as usual.

I really wanted the red roses to work together on the front of the shirt and complete the look.  To me embellishments should be in an odd number - it looks better to me. So I added the red bias binding not only to the collar but to the cuffs and the red buttons down the front of the shirt. These changes really made the red in the roses pop.

Other than that there were no additional changes to the construction. Though I do need to make a few statements about my shirtmaking again...

1. I do not use french seams.  My seams are sewn and serged.

2. I have two versions of this shirt, one with princess seam back & yoke and the other with a yoke and a full gathered back. This is a gathered back version.

3. Sometimes I burrito the yoke, sometimes I use another method. I didn't burrito for this version.

4. I don't use the placket on the sleeve for cuffs. I use the continuous lap method.

5. Sometimes I use button cuffs and sometimes I use the sleeves sewn into a closed cuff.

A Few Pictures ~

The wind was blowing softly while I was taking these...

that's why the shirt looks so full.

I sew these shirts like I feel at the moment or like I feel the fabric deserves. I'm not about using a bunch a techniques for techniques sake. I kind of use what I want when I want because my sewing is now about the journey...and of course the fabric!

I made quite a few shirts over the last couple of weeks to replace shirts I'd given away, grown out of or worn out.  My goal is to add 6-7 more shirts to my wardrobe this winter and to use some of the interesting fabric I've collected.

...as always more later!