hey bro!
Woooh! I’m so excited to finally hand this over! My brother has had/is having a big BIG birthday… and my sister-in-law made the brilliant suggestion that he would like a shirt made by me for his birthday. Well, oh my goodness, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself!! So I dutifully and sisterly-lovingly spent LOADS of time and care into making this as perfect as I possibly could, and it pretty much is. Ta da!
looks like a kinda cool dress when Bessie is wearing it, yes? Gotta admit, I WAS a little tempted to steal it …
I know what you’re thinking… don’t I pour loads of love and care into making shirts for my husband and two sons too? well of course I do. Buuuut, see… my brother’s shirt is going to be handled, worn, laundered, ironed and generally available for up close and personal inspection by someone other than me… and I quaked with fear at the thought * imagines to oneself, my brother and sister-in-law with a magnifying glass going over each and every stitch* Ha!
And yeah, this really is a VIB (Very Important Birthday). and so I just really wanted for this shirt to this to be really really lovely for my really really lovely brother.
Pattern: I used my new mens’ shirt pattern Burda 6874, graded to fit David, plus I made his extra long as per the shirt whose size I was going off. My sister-in-law had secretly given me a well-fitting shirt of his that I could measure off to custom-fit his shirt … David is a 6’4″ champion swimmer, and built like one too… did I ever mention he has swum the Rottnest Channel swim solo?! Yep!! Meaning that I needed to substantially re-grade my pattern to fit his physique. I didn’t have David himself to check the fit off of, just that one shirt; so I was pretty terrified how mine was going to go. Luckily the fit turned out to be absolutely spot on! *pheeeew!!!
Fabric; a really nice deep indigo cotton/linen with a permanently scrunchy texture to it, I went big guns and bought this from Calico House, because well, it IS a special birthday. The red buttons are from Fabulous Fabrics.
But enough boring chit-chat… how about some gratuitous detail shots #shirtporn #oooyouknowyouwantit
buttondown collar
it took me three goes to get the second of these buttonholes looking exactly the same as the first!
sleeve placket. contrasting red cotton for the cuff and yoke facings, topstitched in a way that a tiny sliver peeked out on the right side
fully flat-felled seams throughout
sorry for collar picture overload.. I was just so thrilled at how nice it turned out!
I was once asked what the inside of these side seam gusset/insert thingies looks like … Folding the inner edges all around made them pretty bulky so I cut away all seam allowances of “hidden” edges ie. those of the underside of the gusset and the turned under edge of the shirt hem, tucked them inside the upper gusset edge and topstitched them all down… thus considerably reducing bulk here
As soon as he opened it, he put it on.. obviously this made me SO HAPPY to see him wearing it!
Also… recently I mentioned that I had made a dress for Cassie? well here ’tis!
Pattern; the Sudley by Megan Nielsen patterns, I gathered up the sleeve hems with skinny elastic, like I had done for my own Sudley blouse, at her request. All seams are French seams, dress is fully lined with the lining cut as an extended bodice. The fabric is a very realistic silk-like poly from Spotlight, lining also from Spotlight.
To be honest, halfway through making it I felt pretty down about it, like this was a dress that couldn’t possibly be saved… but fortunately once it was on her it suddenly looked adorable. And she loves it! Despite that very serious facial expression!
No no no! I’m not about to be a granny yet… this is just a pose that made us both roar with laughter! Demonstrating the… um, capacity of this design.
Gosh, you have been busy! I have the Sudley pattern but have never made it. Cassie’ dress reminds me that I really should, it’s so stylish! As for the shirt, well, it’s plainly magnificent in its red buttoned glory!
thank you Sue 🙂
Amazing job! Love them both!
thank you Kathy 🙂
Your brother should feel profoundly gifted with this shirt! It’s gorgeous – the fabric, contrast top stitching (in RED on blue no less!) and you’re right that collar – it must makes you want to shout from the mountaintop! Cassie’s dress is adorable. She looks so much like you in her pictures 🙂 you’re not one for big grins either 🙂
thank you so much Kathleen! 🙂
what great items. that shirt is so fantastic, love the red stitching. And are you saying you unpicked the 2nd collar buttonhole twice? that sounds painful – but worth it in the end.
yes, I did, and yes, I believe it was totally worth it to get a good result 🙂
Your brother’s shirt is perfection in every dimension! I really hope that he will take a magnifying glass to study all those gorgeous flat felled seams, topstitching and buttonholes. The collar has to be studied by your sister in law because he will not be able to while wearing it 😉 It is so well fitted!
Cassie’s dress is lovely! I like the colour and the good drape, it is such a cute pattern. And it suits her with or without using all capacities…
thank you so much SaSa! Haha, it’s funny how we sewists imagine funny things about the things we make, how much other people are going to notice each and every thing! I always try extra specially hard when I’m making things for someone else ! 🙂
Your sewing is truly amazing – maybe once I can sew straight my sewing will improve… This shirt looks fantastic.
thank you so much Juliet! 🙂
Impressive shirt for an impressive swimmer! I have a friend whose sister has done the Catalina and Manhattan Island Swims. Next up is the English Channel! The fabric for Cassie’s dress is divine. It really makes the dress shine!
thank you so much Pencil Girl! Good luck to your friend’s sister with her swimming endeavours! My brother is mostly retired now, and came out of retirement to do the Rotto swim. It was pretty tough, but I think he’s toying with the idea of doing it again! 🙂
Gorgeous gifts, and so impressed with those shirt deets! Glad he loves it!
thanks so much Sarah! xx 🙂
The red buttons are a lovely finishing touch.
I do like the little keyhole detail in Cassies dress! I am sure the “versatility” of this dress will come in handy one day but for now it looks to be a really cute layering dress with tights and boots.
Haha! the dress may indeed come in handy.. in the far off future though, I think! 🙂
I just love opening your emails!!! My son is nearly as tall as your brother and is very fit and trim, and he has to have everything tailored (taken in)….I should up and modify a man’s shirt pattern and start sewing…I will look at the Burda that you used.
Thanks for your inspirations!
thank you so much for your kind comment Marie! 🙂
Impeccable – Your skills are something to aspire to.
thank you very much, Pamela 🙂
Sigh…. I dream of sewing as well as you…. those garments are quite lovely!!!
thank you so much Angela! 🙂
Both the shirt and dress are gorgeous. The workmanship on the shirt is impeccable, it fits your brother beautifully and the red buttons and red topstitching are perfect and fun. The dress is just so adorable on Cassie and fits her beautifully as well.
thank you very much Tomasa! although I can’t help but laugh a little bit at your comment that the dress “fits Cassie beautifully”…!!!
I think the contrasting red looks beautiful with the denim blue fabric, the shirt turned out great and it fits your broher very well 🙂 I’m glad he liked it 🙂 Cassie’s dress looks great on her too, the colors is so nice with her hair. From the other pictures I wouldn’t have thought that the dress is THAT wide, it must be the perfect dress to look fancy while eating a lot of stuff 🙂
Gutsy choice on the contrast thread for the shirt – You did an amazing job on the construction of the shirt, as always! You have a very lucky family to sew for.
I have been sewing since i was nine, but work and motherhood got in the way. My children are grown, and are now having children. While i am not yet able to quit working, i sew for them as I can, and when i can’t, I sew vicariously through you! You continue to inspire me and motivate me to sew more.
Thanks for posting all your creations – I love the lighthearted narrative and beautiful scenery of Australia. Hope I can get there one day. If you have a big blogging party some day, I would come.
The skirt demonstrate such fantastic advanced sewing skills. I thought the same about Cassie too!! Jo x
I’m absolutely in awe of your sewing skills with that shirt, and your bravery (well placed!) to show the details up so close!! Brilliant!!
I have noted the pattern number as my DH & DS are both the same height and build as your brother, and I have looked high and low for such a good men’s shirt pattern (trust Burda!). Thanks also for fabric details.
Bravo!!
Cassie you are gorgeous in your dress and love the last pose.
That is a very serious shirt and fitting those wide shoulders and I imagine slim waist to perfection. The fabric is divine and the red buttons really make a statement. Collar porn is demanded.
I looked at the photos in this post a while ago but wanted to wait till I’d time to read it properly before commenting. What a beautiful shirt you’ve made, so much work and it really shows, it looks so professional. I love the look of that fabric you’ve used and the contrasting red. What a lucky brother!
OMG! Carolyn, your truely talented. I absolutely love David’s shirt. So much detail. l can see every element and stitch shows the love you put into it. Thank you thank you thank you
You also managed to capture a lovely relaxed photo of him please send me a copy xx
Hi Carolyn, I too am about to make this shirt for my son, but won’t put that silly gusset thing in. I was just wondering how you did the Collar as I have found a technique from a site to help make the perfect collar and stand. It’s called ” off the cuff sewing style” for perfect collar points! and you can also look up ‘four square walls” I’m going to try it out when I do this pattern. Your shirt is fantastic.
Your brother’s shirt looks like a bespoke made shirt. Your buttonholes look so good they almost rival the ones made by hand in English and Italian shops.