Negroni Shirt..the test garment (muslin)

This is my (muslin) test garment of the Colette Patterns Negroni Shirt.  I sewed it in about an hour...and the photo does show that it was hastily sewn. But then again it is a muslin, so I did not fell the seams, I used very inexpensive fabric and buttons, and I only gave it a light press.

If you are looking for a slim-cut pattern...this is it. ShirtMakers call this type of draft a "Contour Shirt".

It is a bit big on my Man-a-Kin, but fits Roger well...just enough ease through the upper chest, shoulders, waist, and hip to be comfortable but not sloppy. The sleeves are a nice length..neither too long or short.

Is it worth buying?  Yes!  Will I sew it again?  No. 

While the Negroni pattern is drafted well enough, it does have more cap ease than I prefer, and it has a straight-cut yoke that thankfully is rescued by a nicely curved back. But I already have countless hand-drafted variations of this style silhouette (a convertible collar shirt) both for my husband Roger and my clients. And of course I do not use commercial patterns when I make shirts with my label for clients.

The pattern instructions come in a cute little booklet and are well written and illustrated. Follow them carefully, as different seam allowances are indicated for use on some parts during construction.

About that "Negroni" Shirt...

The Negroni Shirt seems to be a very good pattern...unless you try to rush through a muslin and neglect to read the construction booklet carefully. If you do not pay attention to the very well written instructions, even an experienced shirtmaker can end up with a half-sewn wadder...

Old habits become ingrained after more than 25 years of ShirtMaking. When I draft my shirt patterns, I almost always draft with 1/2" seams for everything but the collar, pockets, cuffs, and plackets which are drafted at 1/4".  

 I reverted to habit on some steps, and that's when all was lost on this particular shirt...that's MY BAD...because

The Negroni Shirt is drafted with 5/8" seams in some places, 3/8" seams in other places, and 1/4" seams on some of the other pieces. It is extremely  important that you follow the very well-written instructions as you sew this shirt. 

Sigh....now I need to start from the beginning. Time is of the essence for me for the rest of the week and this weekend. I need to make another Negroni shirt as promised to you, I also have client shirts to sew....and...as God as my witness, I WILL SEW FOR MYSELF this weekend. In fact I may take a total break from shirt-making and sew for myself tomorrow and Saturday, and get back to the rest on Sunday and Monday :)

So...let's have my first comment about the Negroni shirt be, "Follow the very well written directions carefully".

How To RESCUE Wrinkled INTERFACING!

(Because I still have not been able to do any sewing, I've decided to share this article with you again. It was first written in 2010)

 I think we all have good intentions, and try to keep our interfacing perfectly folded in a drawer or neatly rolled on tubes. But how many times have you reached for a piece of interfacing only to find a wrinkled mess like this...

Like me, probably more than once. 

Luckily there is an easy fix, and it starts at your grocery store. 

Or perhaps you already have it in your pantry... 

Baker's Parchment Paper! 
 

First, roll out a length of  the Parchment Paper onto your ironing board or other pressing surface...and secure it with a few glass-head pins (or other pins that will not melt).





Next, Place your wrinkled interfacing GLUE SIDE DOWN onto the Parchment Paper. Then with your DRY iron set on on a LOW setting, slowly slide the warm iron over the wrinkles.

You will see the wrinkles disappear as you slowly move the iron.

The interfacing does not stick to the slippery Parchment Paper at all. Then move the next section of wrinkled interfacing onto the paper and iron it. Since the iron is set below the  temperature needed to melt the fusible resin, the interfacing is not adversely affected at all. 
 

When you are finished, your once wrinkled interfacing is flat and smooth again, and ready to fuse to your fabric!

You may download a *Free* PDF of this article...by going to the TUTORIALS page at www.FashionSewingSupply.com . 

(It is the 4th tutorial on the page)

TUTORIAL--Perfect Pocket Flaps every time!

There are  many interesting things that I have learned about shirt-making over the years, and one was how to sew pocket flaps...and other "shirt-parts" without seam allowances. Yes, you read that right...I'll be showing you how many custom Shirt-makers sew first, then add the allowances later.

Here is one example of the method, 

using the pocket flap from Colette Pattern's Negroni Shirt.

Since the pattern is multi-sized, I backed all the tissue pattern pieces with some nasty old spun-poly interfacing I've had stashed for years...in preparations for tracing the size I need to make the shirt. Note that the pocket flap of the Negroni Shirt is the same for all sizes.  The first thing I did was to attach the pattern piece to an clean file folder with a stapler, as you see above. I stapled it to the card-stock  so it would stay in place as I traced around it...which is the next step.  Then I quickly added the 1/4" the seam lines to all but the top long straight side of the flap pattern, as you can see below.

Next, I cut it out....cutting OFF the side and bottom seam allowances and discarding them. Now I had a hard copy of the pocket flap, minus its side and bottom seam allowances.

Then it was time to take a piece of Interfacing, fold it in half wrong sides together , and lay my newly trimmed pocket flap on top. The next step is to cut out 2 identical pieces of interfacing, and the best way I've found to keep all the layers from shifting while I cut is to staple them together, as you see below.

Just FYI..the interfacing used in this demo is the new ProWoven Light-Crisp 100% cotton Fusible from www.FashionSewingSupply.com  Many shirtmakers  cut the small pieces like pocket flaps last, from the scraps left after cutting the main pieces. So after the interfacing pieces were cut out (and staples removed) they were each fused to a scrap of fabric that was folded RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER. In the photo below, the folded edge of the fabric piece is at the top, and the Interfacing piece is being fused about 1/2-inch below the fold.

Time to sew!  But how can this flap be sewn if there are no seam allowances...remember I  trimmed them all off except the long top one. Well, it doesn't matter one bit, as you will soon see... 

 ...because I used the interfacing as my stitching guide!   (as shown below..stitched twice in contrast thread so you can see it clearly)

...and as you can see, I chose to stitch "straight-through" the angles of the interfacing template..it is the way I was trained, and is my preference. You may choose to pivot-and-turn, with your needle in the down position to take the turns...but do make sharp turns and follow the outline of the template exactly. Note the top long edge is left unsewn...because that is where the flap will be turned right-side-out.

Next, I needed to add those seam allowances back!  But first I cut right along the edge of the interfacing on the top long edge, but then I cut 1/8" away from the stitching around all the other edges, as you see below. And as you can see I also trimmed the "corner-points"

After I fused the remaining piece of interfacing to another piece of fabric, then stitched and trimmed...I was ready to turn the flaps. And because they were sewn using identically cut pieces of fused interfacing as the "stitching guide"..the flaps are identical twins.  The ones you see below were left unpressed...just turned by hand and patted flat with my hand..and look how good they look.  OK...I'll confess..my iron stopped working just before I was ready to press the flaps...but I wanted to post this tutorial and it might take a while to get another iron...etc, etc. But heck, even unpressed they look a great deal better than many I've made using a different sewing method and an iron that worked!

Next up--The Negroni Shirt! And my RANT about "Self-Drafted"

Yes...I know that I am the last one in "Sewing Land" to make the Negroni men's Shirt Pattern (www.ColettePatterns.com). I took a quick look at it several months ago, but when life got in the way I put that project aside.........and then I lost the pattern!  I ordered a  new one and now that it is here, I can compare it to Vogue 8800 .  Since I can already see that the patterns have significant differences, my comparison will merely be to define those differences rather than make a big declaration that one is better than the other.  And then after the Negroni, I will be showing you a  Victoria Jones Men's Shirt pattern,  the authentically classic "Hawaiian Businessman's Shirt"!

The Negroni will be made from the blue cotton batik print you see pictured.  Because it is a commercial pattern, my husband Roger will be the lucky recipient of the new shirt.  Someone recently asked me why I don't use commercial patterns for the shirts I make for my clients. There are many reasons, here are a few--

-- My clients pay for shirts that are personally designed for them by me, from patterns that are custom hand-drafted to their measurements.

-- It takes me less time to draft a shirt pattern from a given set of measurements than it does to alter a commercial pattern.

-- And speaking of drafting and time, it takes me much less time to sew a shirt from one of my own custom patterns.  That is because I add different amounts of seam allowances to various pattern pieces so that virtually no trimming is needed while the garment is being sewn.

And now a little rant (feel free to add your opinion in "comments").....

 I get excited when I read on a blog or sewing forum that a garment was made from a "self-drafted" pattern..I love when people design their own clothes! But nine times out of ten when I click the link, I find out that the "Self-Drafted" garment was made using parts of commercial patterns that someone  Else,  not  "Self"  drafted!

A hand-drafted pattern ,"Self-Drafted" pattern, or a Custom-Drafted garment, should mean that NO parts of the pattern existed before the point of a pencil met a blank sheet of paper (unless we are using a pocket or cuff, etc, that we...all by ourselves...have drawn from scratch.)  A self-drafted pattern is not a "FrankenPattern" where pattern pieces that  someone else designed  have been re-arranged, or when more curve has been taken to a seam of a blouse that someone else drafted, or when a so-called Self-Drafted pattern started with a bodice piece or any pattern piece previously in existence that someone else designed and drafted !

 It would be like me making a copy of a photo of the elegant Erica B or gorgeous Mimi G,  pasting my head over theirs, and saying, "This is what Pam wore today".  Of course nobody would fall for it, and I would be a called a fraud and a deluded old fool...while you all laughed hysterically.  Yet others blithely claim "This is what I self-drafted today" when they have essentially "photo-shopped" existing patterns.

Sure, we all have taken  a sleeve from a Simplicity pattern, sewed it to the bodice of a Vogue pattern, onto which we sewed the cool pockets from yet another commercial pattern, etc, etc...to make a garment look the way we want it to look. But c'mon, that is NOT a "Self-Drafted" pattern, and most of us know it...we might not know just what we should call it (I sure as heck don't know). But most of us would not have the temerity to claim it as "Self-Drafted".   On the other hand, when we see a a RTW dress and we use the shape of the bodice and skirt as inspiration, and then we draw a pattern (all by ourselves) in an attempt to mimic that garment...in my opinion that qualifies as a self-drafted pattern. Certainly not an original design idea, but I am not talking about design here...that is another kettle of controversy.  I have been talking about "Self-Drafted" Patterns....that often are anything but.

They are here!

Our NEWEST Styles of Custom-Milled, Professional Grade INTERFACING

have Just Arrived at www.FashionSewingSupply.com 

...at special Introductory DISCOUNT Prices!

(I promise to get back to sewing as soon as I can! Orders are pouring in for these fabulous new Interfacing styles, and we want to get them shipped to you as quickly as possible :)

ProWoven Superior Sew-in LIGHT Interfacing

A lightly crisp sew-in Interfacing made from

100% totally stable COTTON, that does NOT shrink!

ProWoven Superior Sew-in MEDIUM Interfacing

A medium crisp sew-in Interfacing that stays crisp.

...perfect for shirt collars/cuffs, and waistbands.

100% totally stable COTTON that does NOT shrink!

ProWoven LIGHT-Crisp Fusible Interfacing

Because you asked for it...we made

a Lighter version of our popular Shirt-Crisp Fusible.

100% totally stable COTTON that does NOT Shrink!

TUTORIAL-- Professional Wrapped-Edge Facing

I always strive to have my garments look as good on the inside as they do on the "public" side.  One of the techniques I use to do this, I showed to you in a tutorial long ago before getting a new camera...so when I sewed the trial garment of Vogue 8800 (shown below), I took the opportunity to stitch and show you this Wrapped-Edge Facing technique again...this time in more detail and with better photography.

When sewing a basic convertible collar shirt like the one above, we usually finish the loose edge of the facings (the long curved edges not sewn to the shirt fronts) by serging, zig-zagging, or by turning the raw-edge 1/4-inch to the wrong side and stitching.  That's perfectly fine, but there is another way to finish those long front facings so that they look like this and give the inside of your garment some pizazz!

Here is how it's done--

The two facing pieces needed for the shirt fronts are cut from the fabric following the pattern exactly.

In order to wrap the edges of the facings, it is necessary to use a soft and very flexible interfacing like ProSheer Elegance from www.FashionSewingSupply.com .
 As shown below...Place and pin the facing pattern piece on the straight grain of folded interfacing, and then draw a line 1/2" away from the long curved edge. Cut the interfacing following the pattern piece along the straight long side, neck curve and top...but use the new drawn line when the long curved edge is cut.  Yes, the two pieces of interfacing are now wider than the two facing pieces that were cut from the fabric.

The interfacing is then placed on top of the facing RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER,  so that the long curved edges match. The fusible side of the interfacing is facing "up".  Then the 2 layers (1 interfacing + 1 fabric facing ) are stitched together along the LONG CURVED EDGE with a scant 1/4-inch seam.

Next as shown below--  On your pressing surface...the interfacing is folded "open" from the facing it is stitched to, and VERY CAREFULLY....it is Pressed ONLY along the the seam allowances with the tip of the iron. BOTH seam allowances and ONLY the seam allowances are pressed towards the interfacing. This is done to just quickly and temporarily "tack down" the interfacing to the SEAM ALLOWANCES.   Do NOT let your iron drift PAST the seam allowance!  Pressing the FABRIC is fine...But at this point..DO NOT PRESS THE INTERFACING PAST THE SEAM ALLOWANCES.

Next, the facing unit is turned over, and the interfacing is wrapped around (over) the pressed-together seam allowances to the wrong side of the facing piece. At this point the interfacing is ready to be fully fused to the wrong side of the facing piece...so finish fusing the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric facing pieces (NOTE--the interfacing will NOT meet the straight and other edges of the facing...because those are the edges that will be sewn to the shirt-fronts..and extra bulk is not needed or wanted in those seams).

This is what the finished "Wrapped-edge Facing"

Piece looks like (after fully fusing the interfacing) from the RIGHT side.   ------------------->

<----And this is what it looks like from the WRONG side.

And when the Wrapped-Edge Facing is sewn into place to the Center Front seam allowance of the Shirt Front pieces....the loose edge of the facing inside of the shirt looks fantastic!      

Vogue 8800 Mens Pattern...The Finished Shirt

Ladies and gentlemen, Vogue 8800 is a winner! 

This is the pattern--  Vogue 8800.  It is very straightforward...a simple style that is easy to sew.

It is a slightly contoured (fitted) casual shirt, without being too tight. And the only alteration I had to make was to lengthen the sleeves. The short sleeves are quite short, which is a good look on a younger man. However in my opinion, too short for a middle aged man. I made this shirt for Roger in a size 40...he is a trim man in his mid-fifties.      I lengthened the sleeve pattern by a full inch, and he still thinks they are a bit too short. So I advise to check the sleeve length before cutting.

This shirt gets my stamp of approval 

because the important drafting details are WONDERFUL ! 

LOOK...  The collar is curved!  The yoke where it joins the back is curved!   The back where it joins the yoke is curved!  The 3 things I look for in a good shirt draft are all here in Vogue 8800.

OK, so what if the instructions are basic. This is marked as an "easy" pattern, so I didn't expect the construction methods to be sophisticated. If we choose to do so...we can sew the yoke in a way that all the seams are enclosed, add a pocket from another shirt,  and put slits in the side seams ourselves.
  
Vogue has given us the most important thing...a very good draft!


SEWING NOTES--  Pro-Sheer Elegance Fusible Interfacing  and Textured Coconut Shell Buttons from www.FashionSewingSupply.com .  Fabric is lightweight cotton batik.

On the Cutting Table...Vogue 8800

Next up, an evaluation of this fairly recently released Vogue pattern for a semi-fitted mens shirt.
I get countless email messages asking me for recommendations for  a "Good Man's Shirt".  So when a new pattern comes out, I do my best to give it a try. 

Since most of the shirts I make are custom hand-drafted garments for clients... my husband Roger is usually the lucky recipient of these test shirts.  And since I really dislike to sew a  muslin from actual "muslin", I am using one of the many batiks I have in stash, bought "on-sale-with-a-coupon-too."

Yes, I am going to make the short-sleeve version in this marbleized batik. I think this fabric is one of those "in small doses" prints, don't you?  A long sleeved shirt would just be "much too much" in this fabric.   But I think a short sleeve version in this fabric will look kind of cool for a slim guy in his mid-fifties...we'll see.

While sewing this shirt, I'll be evaluating many things such as the shape of the yoke as it relates to the back, the shape of the collar, the amount of ease in the sleeve cap and its height...among other things.

WrapOver Yoke Shirt...take 2

 

This variation of my Wrap-Over Angled Yoke Shirt was cut and sewn in a more casual way than the first. It is less fitted and its slightly rumpled look is intentional.  This shirt features angled cuffs, and a band collar that folds and buttons down on the left side.

SEWING NOTES--  Interfaced with Pro-Woven Shirt Crisp in the new Slate Gray color, from www.FashionSewingSupply.com .  Fabric is an incredibly soft pinpoint cotton shirting that is almost denim-like in appearance but far more luxurious. Click Here to see the fabric details at GorgeousFabrics.com  FYI...the only reason I am giving my source for this amazing cotton fabric is because I have already purchased several yards in both colors :)  I have no affiliation with Gorgeous Fabrics..I just buy a lot of fabric there ;)

So...which of the Wrap-Over Angle Yoke shirts do you like more...this very casual one, or the more fitted version in checked fabric with piping I posted last week (see below)?

Finally Finshed! Shirt with Wrap-Over Angled Yoke

Designing and drafting the pattern for this shirt was so much fun, 

and stitching it was even better!

In the post below this one, you will see the pattern and the "muslin" (test garment) for this style.  I only needed to make some very small changes to arrive at the finished shirt, involving the shape of the sleeve cap. It just needed to be a little flatter and a bit longer.

 Balancing details is important when designing menswear that differs from the norm. I did not want this shirt to veer into "western" territory, and of course I did not want it to look like a "blouse".  So I added a traditionally shaped pocket, and carried the piped accents of the yoke to the sleeve and pocket. The addition of a white band collar cut straight at center front (rather than rounded) and traditional white shirt buttons "marching" down the the front placket finish the look.

SEWING NOTES--  Shirting fabric from www.GorgeousFabrics.com, Collar interfaced with Pro-Woven Shirt Crisp Fusible Interfacing from www.FashionSewingSupply.com  Buttons are from the Light Assortment of "Buttons-by-the-Scoop" from www.FashionSewingSupply.com.

What I'm working on...Shirt with Angled Yoke

I started this design last week, but have been very busy since my blog-interview with the lovely Gertie!

When finished (sometime next week, I hope)...this will be a Man's Shirt with a one-piece *angled* wrap-over Yoke. Excuse the poor sketch (I cannot draw) and blurry pic of the "working pattern".  

This first muslin was pretty good and I've made some minor changes to the final pattern.  Right side of shirt is shown...

When drafting a shirt for a man where the yoke wraps over the shoulder and ends at a deep angle in the front, shape needs to be "built-into" the yoke so that the shirt  lays smoothly along the shoulder.  While you will sometimes see a design like this for women or children...there are very few angled (one piece) yoke styles found among commercial patterns for men.  In menswear this look is usually accomplished by a separate piece that is stitched to the shirt fronts (like western shirts, for example).

How to Iron a Shirt....the professional way.

 Recently in comments, Cissie complimented me about how well pressed my shirts are, and asked me for some tips.  So I have chosen to show you this video from T.M.Lewin, makers of fine men's shirts and other haberdashery, in business since 1898 located on Jermyn Street, London.  (Worthy of mentioning--they have been making fine shirts for well over 100 years, and now even they use fusible interfacing in many styles of their  shirts!)

I was taught to iron my finished shirts in this manner during my shirtmaking/tailoring training, and have been doing it this way for 30 years.  ...and yes, this is "ironing".

Please note the following--

• Iron one "cuff and sleeve" and the associated half of the  yoke...then iron the other "cuff and sleeve", and the remaining half of the yoke (only one sleeve side is demonstrated in this video).
• Note how only the CB of the collar is ironed when folded.
• Remember to fasten the top button before ironing the body of the shirt...it makes a huge difference.
• Perhaps the most useful tip in this process that will make the most difference in how your pressed shirt looks is this-- Use the heel (back wide end of the sole plate) of your iron to do the "work" when ironing places like the cuff and collar. This is fully demonstrated in the video, and really does make a difference!