Tag Archives: Mens Shirt

Menswear; linen shirt no. 3

01/04/2010 1:30 am \ 12 Comments \

Here is my husband’s new shirt.  It was made using Burda 7767 (again, such a great pattern!) with the fit variations I perfected making the last shirt.  I altered the collar size slightly; the pattern comes with three collar variations and this one is midway between the two smaller options.  I also rounded the pocket and added a pointy arrowhead collar flap.  The other day I saw a man’s shirt with a single welt pocket and a button with a tiny fabric loop; it looked really cool and I’ve filed it away for a future shirt…
The double topstitching here has a slightly different gap this time.  I’m super happy with my topstitching in this version, it’s as close to perfect as I can get it.  Topstitching is a real meditative process; you’re hunched over the machine, eyeballing your first row of stitching and just mentally gauging and controlling that second row at an dead even gap…. almost as good as yoga.  Except yoga you’re supposed to be concentrating on nothing.  And with topstitching you’re full-on concentrating.  OK, not quite the same.  But it’s still kind of the same outcome, a calm stillness in which all other stimuli is blocked out.
Hmm, sewing as a therapeutic meditative tool; yeah, moving right along…
I used linen, part of the batch that I bought online a few months ago.  I chose caramel brown contrasting thread and blotchy brown and cream, tortoise-shelly like buttons as a contrast.  I just love brown and blue together.  I think he will be able to wear this shirt as a business shirt, because it’s linen and quite classical in its detailing, but it will still look fine as a casual shirt, because of the colour; sort of reminiscent of the classic Levi’s chambray shirts.

Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767 with minor variations, mid-weight “crown blue” linen

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Canal Rocks

21/03/2010 1:51 pm \ 5 Comments \

Full day today, this is why I’m posting so late tonight.  We had a busy sociable day, and rounded off by going to watch the sun set over the ocean.  Here, my husband took so many beautiful photos, and also some of me in my outfit I’ve included here.  (I was kinda planning another handicraft post, but these photos are, well, better….)
The rocks here are so alienesque and seismically dramatic, and the ocean so turbulent with booming fountains of white frothy sea-spray with every violent wave…. we were here at midday and the rocks were tangerine and the water a rich vibrant blue, in the late afternoon light, as here, the rocks are paled to golden and the ocean becomes a dark almost sinister grey…
I’m wearing my outfit that was one of my wardrobe refashions, first posted about here, made out of three of my husband’s old business shirts.  I actually love this outfit a lot, it fits my casual and yet funky (I hope!) aesthetic perfectly; I have a desire to look different, without looking so different that I look odd, I think this outfit ticks the boxes.  I know some people insist on having pockets in the garments they make; I’m not so demanding, but in this I did put pockets in the skirt, made out of the short sleeves from the sky-blue top, and boy am I pleased with these pockets!  They enable me to shove my hands down low in the skirt and slouch along the footpath in a casually cool manner… er, as casually cool as I can manage, anyway….;D

Details:
Top and skirt; refashioned from 3 old business shirts
Thongs (flipflops); Mountain Designs

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Borrowing from husband’s wardrobe, again…

15/03/2010 7:01 am \ 5 Comments \

Woot, for autumn!  I think the hot weather has finally settled down after a last scorcher on Friday and I’m in the mood for some of my cooler weather gear and some cooler weather colouring….
This skirt has been a winner; it was wonderful to reach for during the hottest days of summer as its so light and airy, and I’m thinking its cheerful hues will carry me through the cooler months too.  When I first bought this floral fabric I was a little afraid it wouldn’t be particularly versatile as it’s such an eye-catching print, but I’ve been proven wrong as I’ve worn it in so many ways; for today I decided to put it with the linen shirt I made recently for my husband (he’s going to get a surprise when he sees it here today!), worn as a kind of light coat unbuttoned and belted at the waist.  I love the colour combination of the deep port-wine shirt/coat with the bright reds/pinks of the skirt; feels so autumn-y, vibrant and rich, a fortuitous marriage for sure!
I’ve often expressed how much I love menswear to be worn by women; I think it can be a very sexy and feminine look, especially when paired with overly feminine garments like this blowsy floral skirt….

Details:
Skirt; Vogue 2894, floral cotton
Camisole; Country Road
Shirt/coat; Burda 7767, port wine linen
Belt; had since teenage years
Sandals; Micam by Joanne Mercer, from Hobbs
Nail varnish; Crimson Sparkle, Revlon

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Menswear, linen shirt no. 2

17/02/2010 3:05 am \ 8 Comments \

I made my husband another shirt!
The fabric; well I got brave, and in a first for me bought some fabric online.  I felt quite strange about this as I have never bought fabric without feeling the weight and thickness of it for myself, but I’m pretty happy about my purchases.  In fact I’ve bought quite a bit, post pictures tomorrow…
I used Burda 7767, the same as for his last shirt here, with a few minor adjustments.  For fitting considerations I curved the side seams a little for a better fit and increased the body and sleeve width at the underarm.  For design considerations I curved the corners of the pocket and cuffs, added a pocket flap, and topstitched with narrow double stitching.  I used black thread throughout for a contrasting look, and for the topstitching.  What can I say, I really like contrasting topstitching!  Maybe next time I’ll make him a shirt with matching topstitching … hmm, maybe not.   I don’t think I could resist putting my own little spin on any of the stuff I make..
I was a bit more careful with the topstitching of the sleeve plackets this time and I think the finish is pretty good if I say so myself….;D!  I bought little shiny black buttons to finish it off.
I really love this rich port-wine colour on him, I think it really suits him and it goes beautifully with his stone coloured linen pants, with a black belt.  
(In case anyone’s curious, he requested that his head be cropped out of the photo!  I thought he looked quite handsome and is too sensitive but I can sympathise as I very often contemplate doing same to my photos too…)

Details:
Shirt; Burda 7767, “tawny port” middle-weight linen

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Wardrobe Refashion, project 5

05/02/2010 7:00 am \ 12 Comments \
Has anyone seen the Vivienne Westwood Spring/Summer 2010 collection, a parade which included what looks like Frankenstein-ed business shirts jammed together in magnificent artistic disarray, at left; sigh, pure gorgeousness incarnate, no?  I think Vivienne Westwood is a design genius, and this is not the first time I have sighed lustfully over her collection.  In a further enticement I also spotted and was mesmerised by this sculptural and beautiful shirt-monster, at right, which I found on outsapop.
Obviously for my own wardrobe I need to tone down the overall excessiveness of these extreme looks, as I live and operate in a fairly conservative little community where artistic fabulousness is likely to provoke tears of hilarity rather than admiration; but I felt so inspired by these examples I wanted to attempt my own version.
Enter; three old business shirts belonging to my husband, which had been put in my “fabric” trunk many years ago.  Don’t remember now exactly why I decided to hang onto these, but I must have had an inkling that they would come in handy one day…
I didn’t take any photos during the construction process this time.  However, the sleeves used for the top have been shortened to be ¾ length, which I think is a more feminine look and I used the collar of one shirt to make a partial attached belt to bring in the back of the top and give it a bit more shape and definition as well as to bring in this fabric colour to the top.  The skirt is comprised of two layers formed by the bodies of the two remaining shirts.  I made a bias binding of some of the leftover fabric to bind the waistband of the skirt which has a single button closure at the left waist, and saved the sleeves of the short-sleeved shirt to make the inserted pockets (see details below)  I really love the final outcome, satisfies my “waste-not-want-not” instincts whilst also looking kind of shabby/trendy and still undeniably unique all together…  I confess it did turn a few heads when I went grocery shopping in town this morning but I’m hoping it was in a good way.  Nobody was pointing and laughing and I take this as a good sign.
Details:
Skirt and top; re-fashioned from three old business shirts
Shoes; Country Road
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Menswear, linen shirt

22/12/2009 12:46 am \ 3 Comments \

Today is my husband’s birthday, and my gift to him is a linen shirt.  Handmade by me, of course!  He requested that I make him some linen shirts after he bought himself one and loved the feel of the linen and its amazing wearability.  In my opinion the only downside to linen is its high crease factor, but this is acceptable in a casual garment.
So, being a birthday present I had to make this one on the sly, which wasn’t easy!  He always seemed to be popping in to the laundry(my sewing room), or coming home from work early, or getting up in the morning earlier than expected; just when I was sneaking in a bit of birthday shirt construction time!
I used Burda 7767 for the pattern; and I had decided on this pink handkerchief linen with gunmetal blue topstitching because he has a pair of pinstripe navy pants that don’t really have a shirt to go with in his wardrobe.  I really like the combination of navy and pink.  Also our eldest son commented that he would like a pink shirt, so I figured that if my husband didn’t like it then I thought he could have it!!
Luckily my husband does really like it.  The sizing was my biggest worry, as obviously I couldn’t fit it to him during construction, being a secret.  I measured it up against other shirts in his wardrobe.  It fits perfectly well, luckily, but I will be making a few minor adjustments to future shirt-making efforts.  Namely making the armholes just a tad deeper, at his request.  I also just made a basic shirt this time, with no fancy design features, but will play a bit with other details next time…
I used the new collar construction technique that I learnt from my mother’s Louise Cutting DVD (through Threads magazine), but as this was a bit of a rushed, secret sewing job I didn’t take any photos of this process.  I will take photos next time and post them, as I feel this is a marvellous method that eliminates some of the excess fabric bulk within the collar and results in a cleaner more streamlined collar.
I am a tiny bit disappointed with some of my topstitching on the sleeve placket (see photo), and being such a high contrast in colours it really stands out!  However my husband nearly always rolls up the sleeves on his casual shirts anyway, so it won’t really matter that much.  In future I will be more careful and spend more time on getting this just right. 

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