Sewing Related Christmas Gift Part 1...

 I received a surprise sewing related gift for Christmas.  I do not remember noticing this book before:

 There may or may not be ulterior motives with this gift but I do enjoy sewing for my husband.  If you are looking for menswear patterns, this book has several - long sleeved shirt, short sleeved shirt, trousers, jacket, boxer shorts, pajamas, house coat, slippers, messenger bag, wallet, bow tie, cravat, and flat cap.  There is enough here to create a wardrobe.

It might be fun to compare the patterns in this book to other patterns that I have collected.  I have the Silhouette Patterns George's Shirt pattern which is a classic men's dress shirt.  I have the Liesl & Co Alvalade Men's Trousers pattern.  I have not attempted either pattern.  

You can see some of the shirts that I have made for my husband - here. Those were made using an older Simplicity pattern and using measurements from RTW to determine the size.  I do enjoy sewing for my husband.  He is willing and happy to wear funky prints.  

I guess if I am really going to work on sewing something for my husband that I should get some measurements.  There is a basic measurement chart in the book but it is just a starting point.  Posture affects fit a lot and that generally is done by draping.  

I will share anything this gets made.  Somethings might be modeled by my husband and/or my son.  I do sew for both but generally it is pajamas that get made the most.

Did you get any sewing related items for Christmas?

Happy Stitching!

Fun Men's Shirt...

 Back in 2020 when the world stood still, I worked on a shirt muslin for my husband.  I even got around to make a few shirts that have been on constant rotation and get their fair share of comments.  Finding interesting fabric can be an issue.  However a year or so ago, I ran across fabric:

My husband is a beer judge and is very active in the local brewing club.  This makes the fabric perfect for him.  I will be using Simplicity 5581.  I am thinking that a wooden button will work well with this if I can locate them.  Here is the finished shirt:

The brewer had a big smile when his shirt was finished.  He was cooking when I decided to take pictures so it is a hanger shot.  Changes that I made:

1.  Added 1-inch to the length.

2. Added 1/4-inch to the side seams and sleeves.

3.  Changed the button hole placement from 4 1/4-inches to 3-inches.  

This is a great pattern if you can find a copy of it.  It is from the early 2000s.

Happy Stitching!

A Look Back - The 2020 Winners

 2020 was a rough year and it was not all due to the pandemic.  My health seemed to be telling me to slow down and take care of myself.  I tried.

Now, back to sewing.  I really think 2020 was my most successful sewing year in a very long time.  Everything that was made has been used.  

Many items in a weekly rotation throughout the summer.  Here is the items that were in constant rotation -The woven tanks were perfect for the hot summer weather.  They will be returning next summer unless there is a fitting issue.  The Camber Set Dress was another perfect hot summer item and in constant rotation.  The three shirts that I made my husband were well received and worn a lot.  He's still wearing them because the weather is intermittently still warm.  The Indygo Junction Easy Top was a great top and worn throughout the summer and fall.  

These items were not worn as much but still worn.  The Dorian Pants and Navy Tank were worn a fair amount.  The pants turned out to have an issue with the crotch length/depth.  I still wore them and enjoyed wearing them but spent a fair amount of time pulling them up.  The tank felt a little tight.  Even though it was the exact same pattern used as the woven tanks above.  I suspect that the fact that I had doubled the fabric had something to do with it.  That fabric was kinda expensive at $15/yard and I missed that it was only 1 1/2 oz in weight per yard.  Doubling the fabric was my solution to still getting a wearable garment from the yardage that I purchased.   The Natalie Shirt didn't get worn as much as I expected.  With this top, I missed the fact that the first button was at the same level as my bra band.  I felt kinda exposed with the button at that level.  I ended up adding an additional button and buttonhole, and it worked out okay.  I really love the fabric on this shirt and will definitely be looking for similar fabric.  The Rhett Jacket has been worn quite a bit given that I just finished it at the first of December.  The fabric is really what makes this jacket.  I liked the fabric so much that I searched for more and purchased a couple of different colors.  

I have not worn the Bertie dress yet.  I know that is sad but I do love the dress.  I just have not had an occasion to wear it.  I guess I will need to just wear with some tights and it will become a day-to-day dress.  I had intended this dress to be useful during the fall, winter, and spring.  

The last couple of items that I made this year was for my husband and son.  The lounge pants for my son was well received so I know that he will wear them as they come up into rotation.  The fleece vest that I made my husband was well received and he's been wearing it almost daily.

The other things that I made were masks, lots of masks.  The majority were handed off to the local hospital for non-essential workers/visitors.  All of the masks that I made for family have been used for the majority of the year.  In fact, it's probably time to make a few more just for something different. The holiday apron and oven mitts were well used on Christmas.  They will be used through the rest of the year into January then put away.

I think the reason that my sewing was so successful this year is that I really put some thought into the purchases that I made and the items that I needed.  I did purchase far too many patterns, too much fabric, and notions.  I did document my purchases and what I intended to make.  I realize that I do not sew as fast as I think I can.  I just need to not purchase as much and try a little harder to use the items that have already been purchased.  

Here's to a successful 2021.  I hope that I end up with as good a sewing year as 2020 was.  How did your 2020 sewing turn out?

Happy Stitching!

Men's Shirt - Simplicity 5581

My husband picked a 2 or 3 fabrics and I have been working on Simplicity 5581.  You can see the muslin information here.  Here are the shirts:

This is a stash find.  It is a red/white seersucker.  I sent my husband to JoAnns to get the buttons.  I gave him the required size, fabric with a buttonhole in it, and told him he pick whatever he wanted but he would have to live with it.  I think he did well.  Poor guy, he had to stand in line for about an hour to get into the store.  He was not happy.

This is another stash find.  It is birds, birds, birds.  The fabric was purchased many years ago for this purpose.  I am glad that it finally became a shirt.  It is a much stiffer fabric than the red/white striped fabric. 

This is another stash find.  It is all kinds of hot peppers.  I think this fabric was something I kept from closing my store.   It is a quilting cotton.  I added an inch to the length of this one.

Conclusion:

This is a great pattern. The drafting seems very good.  The instructions were good.   If you can locate a copy of it at a reason price and you have guys in your life to sew for, you should get it.

Happy Stitching!

Muslin...Men's Shirt

I purchased this Simplicity pattern long ago:

It's Simplicity 5581.  I am sure that I purchased it with the intent to make my husband and son making shirts.  It never happened.  Now, my son is far to  old to want a making shirt with his Dad.  My husband on the other hand is very happy to have me make a shirt.

As far as sizing goes,  I measured a ready-to-wear shirt and compared to the finished meausrements.  This put him in the medium size.  The only thing that may be an issue is length but that will be taken care of when he tries the muslin.  Adding inches is easy.  If any other alteration is needed, that may not be so easy.  Here is the muslin straight from the pattern:

Note that I did not add facing or pockets.  I did put in the hems so we could see if any length will be needed.  Mens patterns are drafted for 5'10 and my husband is about 6'1".

Lounge Pants - Simplicity 8519

While my son was here at Christmas I asked if he was interested in another pair of lounge pants.  Surprisingly, he jumped at the chance.  I had a plaid fabric that I not sure exactly what it was.  It was fuzzy like a flannel but I think it was a very firm knit.  There was 5 1/2 yards so I jumped at the chance to make 2 pair of lounge pants - one for my son and one for my husband.  So, I checked the pattern stash and couldn't believe that I didn't have a pattern for lounge pants.  Walmart to the rescue with Simplicity 8519:

Yep, I paid full price for it.  Well, Walmart prices anyway.

Things that I chose to do:

1.  I made an XL for both guys.  If there is a next time, I will make a L.
2.  Lengthen leg by 3 inches.
3.  No attempt made to match the plaid.  I think that a printed plaid isn't the best thing to match.

Son's pants:

Yes, I purposely cut his head off.  That's for his privacy.  I think the pant will be comfy and hopefully warm.  His studio apartment is apparently very cold.

Hubby's pants:

My husband liked the pant but thought that they might be a little baggy.  Evenings hanging out around the house will be comfy for him.

Conclusion:

This is not a beginners pattern because of the fly instructions.  I don't generally read instructions word for word but look at the pictures.  This is not the first time that I made a fly of this sort but it is the first time that I was totally confused by what was being shown.  Just be aware that there are a lot of fiddly pieces to the front.  It should be very easy to convert to just a pull on pant without all the little pieces.  The waistband would need to be converted.

Overall, this is a nice lounge pant pattern and I will most likely make this again in a L for my husband and son.  I'm also considering making a pair for my Dad in a M.  We'll see what happens.

Happy Stitching!