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Jun 8, 2012

Linen Border Print Shirt REVEAL!



Ding, Dong, the Shirt is Done!

I am happy to say the linen border print shirt I made for Michael is finished.  And he likes it!

I love this print -- it's summery and fun without looking like a Don Ho hand-me-down.  (In truth, it reads vaguely Scandinavian to me -- or Japanese (Etsuko Furuya.)  The texture and weave of this linen is very much like a super-soft, lightweight chambray. 





The collar went on this morning without too many headaches.  Collars are probably the most challenging part of making men's shirts and the technique I always use is one I learned from the Margaret Islander video, Shirts, Etc.  First, you attach the collar to the outside band, and next you attach the inside band to the shirt itself.  Finally, you attach the two bands to each other, right sides together (with the collar sandwiched in between) along the top and flip the outer band over, topstitching along the bottom of the outer band.  I covered this technique in my Men's Shirt Sew-Along last year.

Collar attached to outside band.
Inside band attached to wrong side of shirt.
Stitching bands together, with collar in-between.
Outside band flipped to the right side of shirt and ready to be topstitched down.

The finished collar looks like this:



As promised yesterday, here are my French seams along the torso and sleeve:





We decided to use multicolored buttons in purples and pinks from my vintage button stash.  Cute, right?







My work is done and I think it's time for a nap.  There's enough fabric left for some drawstring shorts for me, I think, but first, my next project -- a vintage Seventies Ocean Pacific shorts knock-off in lavender corduroy!





You can see more pics of my linen border print shirt project and the blue-eyed model here.

Happy Friday, everybody!

41 comments:

  1. Nice shirt! French seam, French seam... Here we call it English seam. Curious, isn't it? I often use them, I like the cleaner look they give to a garment.

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  2. The color looks great on him! It brings out the blue in his eyes (as if they could possibly get brighter)

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  3. super cute! Oh, and the shirt is nice too.

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  4. It's beautiful! He's a very lucky man!

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  5. What a great shirt! And thanks for sharing the construction details. I love peeking inside other sewist's work!

    I'm going to have to rethink my initial skepticism of the whole doing one's colors thing - the shirt really brings out Michael's eyes.

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  6. It looks great on him! I am a bit envious that you were able to make this shirt in only two days. It would take me at least a month of weekends to sew that up.

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    1. I know exactly how you feel...........you have to be in that "sewing mood" or forget it!!!

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  7. That really is his color! I also must add that you've shown your real 'designer' side by using the different colored buttons....love the idea and the look! I'm trying to find some handkerchief linen that won't cost a king's ransom up here in the hinterlands of Hartford! Can you wash that fabric or is it dry clean only? I know that linen has a tendency to lose it's color, which is why I stick to ivory or white.

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  8. It looks great. I love how professionally finished everything looks. Not a stray thread or wavering top-stitch to be seen, even on the close-ups.

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    1. With eagle-eyed readers like mine, I have to stay on top of my game! ;)

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  9. Gorgeous--the shirt and the model. The centering of the flower on the back is genius.

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  10. Love the shirt. It looks the business.

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  11. My new favorite garment! I just love the multi-colored buttons, which look as though they were designed expressly to complement this fabric. Eat your hearts out, partners of selfish seamstresses!

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  12. That's AWESOME! I LOVE how you centered the flower in the middle of the back! Awesommmme!

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  13. The fabric, the seams, the buttons, and of course, the model!

    The grand slam of fashion!

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  14. Beautiful! Good job.

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  15. It really suits him :) Was it on his colour chart from CMB? ;)

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  16. Another inspiring shirt! One of these days, my hubs will be ecstatic when I actually finish his up that has been 3 years in the making. Oh well. I know that Michael will rock those flowers!

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  17. Great shirt; great fabric. I love french seams!

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  18. the shirt looks perfect Peter! and I like the colored buttons :) I'm really excited to see those shorts made up!! I like the classic clean lines--they are winners.

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  19. Love it, love it, LOVE IT! It looks fabulous and Michael makes it look even better. Maybe there’s something to this CMB stuff after all (though Michael’s a cutie to begin with!). Thanks for the details on the collar. The topstitching shows real skill. What a great idea with the buttons! Makes it look very couture. Count me among those who are envious of how quickly you made this.

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  20. I think you've made Michael happy.

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  21. Love the way you worked with the print. It's tops.

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  22. What a lovely shirt. And it picks up on the blue of Michael's eyes beautifully!

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  23. Awesome shirt! Very cute detail in the buttons. Love them!

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  24. Great shirt, and it looks mighty fine on the model, too!

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  25. Gorgeous! It looks great on him! Well done!

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  26. Japanese sounds good. It's a great shirt and Michael looks very happy to be the recipient or your largess.

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  27. I am not a great fan of floral shirts but this one is definitely one I absolutely love. I love the buttons. Very creative and I love the way you used the pattern. Even my husband would probably wear this, well maybe not, but on Michael its a perfect fit and looks fabulous.

    Josette

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  28. What a gorgeous shirt - it brings out the blue of Michael's eyes so perfectly! He looks delighted!

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  29. Perfect and the greatness fabric.

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  30. I mean greatest!

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  31. Love the shirt. The end result was definitely worth all the pains you took in laying out the fabric.

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  32. I love the subtle way you used the border. And this definitely colors Michael beautifully!

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  33. After reading some nice stuff in your blog I really feel speechless, because it is quit pretty blog about linen shirts.

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