Running With Scissors

Mens Negroni Shirt

10:43 AM

My first sewing project for men!

(or I guess my man)

A long sleeve button up shirt for my husband.

There is such a shortage of sewing ideas/ patterns for men. Boys too, but in the sewing pattern catalogs, there's usually less than five options for men, and most of the time a few are unisex fleece vests or something. So it was exciting for me to finally sew something for my husband.

A few months ago I was shocked to find I actually won a giveaway from Colette Patterns on their blog.

I won the Negroni pattern for a modern cut men's shirt. I was thrilled.

Their patterns come in a printed booklet format with an envelope pocket on the back cover to hold the pattern pieces. It's the fanciest pattern I've ever used.

The steps were clear and simple to follow.

I've been saving this charcoal yarn dyed shirting fabric for a while, I bought it last fall on clearance for $2/yd and finally made his shirt.

The biggest new technique for me was sewing on the button placket for the wrists of the shirt, then adding the cuffs.

Their website also has additional pocket patterns to add variety to the pattern.

I had a lot of fun making this shirt for my husband, and the finished garment means a lot more to me than other things I've sewn for my kids. Maybe because I never really sew for him, it meant a lot and it was a lot more challenging project than baby leggings or something. I think when you make things for people you love, the created objects can kind of symbolize your love for them. I guess that's how I feel about this shirt. I's not perfect, but I don't ever see it going to goodwill or anything. I don't know if you have a hard time getting rid of clothing you make for your family, but it's the same with things for my kids.

Quite often in comments or conversations people will ask if my husband just loves me for making so much, or I think especially that I tackle building furniture/ power tools.

I always laugh and think "sort of".

Rhett really supports my creative habits.

He's not one who really cares much or gets excited about my latest scheme, like helping me go over fabric swatches or giving an opinion on which color buttons I should use or anything.

He's not the slightest interested in all the crap I make most of the time.

But he does appreciate a lot of the DIY projects that improve our home like painting the kitchen cabinets or save us money like reupholstering the chairs or building all our patio furniture.

He lets me know he appreciates a lot of my projects.

But there's a downside to having me as a wife...well many, but the ones that are project related are really annoying I'm sure

Like his tool box.

Since my dive into the furniture making, I've overtaken his tools and use them 90% of the time, and I'm not as organized as he is. So the occasion he does need a tool, most of the time I didn't put it back where it "should" be. Most of the time I can tell him where it is, but you can imagine how annoying it would be for a chick to mess with your tools if you're a man.

There's also the aspect of living life amid 10+ projects in progress.

Like the fact neither car could park in our garage this summer when I was building all the patio furniture...for a few months.

Or the fact his winter coat/ parka has white oil based primer smeared on the front that won't come out from when I was priming a dresser in the garage in the freezing weather last winter and wasn't that careful obviously.

Or here's a picture of him eating dinner literally between Jack's legs last month.

I would have moved Jack, but Rhett just squeezed his plate in between the chaos to eat and said it was fine.

So there's aspects of having a wife that insists on making as much as she can that must be annoying at times, but Rhett just lets me go to town building/ crafting/ sewing and never complains or really even seems irritated.

I'm so grateful for his support in letting me attempt to make/ sew whatever I think I want to try.

He's patient with the messes that are created in the process and appreciates the results.

I never really have recognized his sacrifices and support to allow me to create whatever I want, which I'm so grateful for.

He just lets me fly.

{this is my favorite photo of Rhett--taken shortly after he became a dad}

Womens

Plaid Pull-over

11:45 PM

I love Pinterest, and love the polyvore outfits people put together.

Since thinking of a complete outfit with accessories is kind of foreign to me, I appreciate all the ready ideas floating around out there. It's helped me kind of think more about a whole outfit, rather than just jeans and a solid old navy/ target tee which is usually what I wear.

So this one in particular caught my eye for fall, and I really liked the plaid button up shirt.

I'm usually not a fan of plaid shirts, since I think of a lumber jack or something, but I thought in the whole ensemble it looked cute for fall.

{source}

I had a really great plaid yarn dyed shirting from Fabric.com I love.

It's a cool pallete of teal and brown, but the fabric is so smooth and has great drape. Compared to other shirting fabric I bought it seems so much softer and better, it doesn't need to be ironed after washing/ drying.

Anyway, I only had 1.5 yards and didn't have enough for a long sleeved button up shirt, so instead I made a collared tunic with half length sleeves.

I borrowed a sewing pattern from Lynette that she bought at a thrift store from the 1970s.

The pattern has a hidden darts that angle into the side seams at the waist and the front placket for a button I haven't sewn on yet.

The back just has two small darts at the shoulders, and the overall fit is loose like a tunic.

The sleeves ended up being a little more gathered in the shoulder than I had intended, but they didn't bother me enough to unpick and re-sew.

Overall it's a really easy, comfortable top to wear.

It's a looser fit, light, and I think it would be cute layered under a cardigan or something.

If I were brave enough it would look cute belted at the waist I think, but I've attempted that trend many times and always take off the belt at the last minute when I leave the house.

I just can't pull things off as well as other people.

Tonight we picked the last of the apples from my mom's mini orchard.

RJ loved climbing the trees and shaking the branches.

As always, if you have any outfit ideas of how you'd wear it, I'd appreciate all the tips I can get!

boys clothing

Boys Waistcoat and Trousers

6:00 AM

Halloween is over, but I've been on a clothing sewing kick and it's recently shifting to the men in my house.

First off, my son, Rhett James (RJ).

When he was 2 I made him this newsboy suit, with the pants and vest.

It was sad when he grew out of it and it's been one of my favorite things I've made for him.

So I thought I'd make another set, this time it has a little more room to grow.

My inspiration for this suit was actually Robert Downey Jr's costumes as Sherlock Holmes.

I loved the thick wale corduroy overcoat with the subtle printed waistcoat.

{source}

I learned that there's no difference between a vest or a waistcoat, Americans tend to use the term "vest" where the United Kingdom calls them "waistcoats".

Thus I chose to keep the British vibe calling these "waistcoat and trousers".

I had considered adding a collar on the waistcoat like the Sherlock version, but in the end kept it a more modern vibe with the traditional "v-neck" vest shape. I tend to be a little picky with boys vests, as I'm not a fan of the "boxy 80s vests" like you find in the basic sewing patterns. Not to say you could alter a slimmer more fitted version than these chest cubes, but I tried to make it a slightly longer fit on the torso and make the v meet higher on the chest rather than around the waist.

Just my personal preference.

I made my own pattern for the waistcoat, and Lynette taught me a great new trick to enclose all the seams with lining when you construct it.

Basically the correct way to sew a vest that I hadn't known before.

The trousers have a faux zip and button front.

They're basically just elastic waisted pants, so they can't open. Just pull on and off, but stay on the waist with elastic around the back from side seam to side seam.

I used another pair of his pants as a pattern for these, and so they have the traditional pleat front, pockets and elastic in the waist so he can just pull them down rather than have to deal with zip/ snap front.

Lynette also taught me how to sew a welt pocket.

I LOVED the result, although it requires really precise sewing which I'm not used to, but I'm thinking I'll be making more welt pockets.

Basically the welt pocket is just a slit in the main body of the garment, and you add what I'd call a facing to help turn it around to make, in this case, the pocket between the lining and outside of the vest.

So to complete the little man Sherlock look, I made the blue corduroy blazer a few weeks ago to pair with the waistcoat and trousers to make a unique 3 piece suit.

Suits can be really uncomfortable my husband tells me, but so far this little man doesn't seem to feel too restricted in his three-piece-suit.

The Fall clothing maddness I've been sewing continues tomorrow with my first MEN'S project!

tutorial

Maxi Dress Variation: Making Long Sleeves

1:55 PM

Here's a variation for those who have purchased the Maxi Sheet Dress Pattern and would like longer sleeves for fall/ winter.

Or anyone who has a short sleeve pattern and would like to lengthen the sleeves.

Also, I've been curious about making a maxi dress with knit, and so I made another dress with white knit and while I was at it, tried out a long sleeve too.

First off with the knit:

I used a white ponte knit so it won't wrinkle.

It worked just fine and makes it easy to wear since you don't have to iron it.

It makes things a little more challenging as you sew, but ponte knit is a less stretchy "more stable" knit, so I didn't find sewing this dress with it that different from a sheet.

How to Adjust the Pattern for Long Sleeves

1. Measure your desired lengths:

a. SHOULDER TO WRIST LENGTH: take your measuring tape and measure from your shoulder to your wrist for long sleeves, or anywhere in between where you'd like your sleeves.

Add 1.5" to your measurement for hem and seam allowance.

NOTE: Typical women's standard sleeve lengths:

Full long sleeve 23" finished (24.5" to cut)

Half Sleeve {hitting just above elbow} 11" finished (12.5" to cut)

I have orangutan arms, so my long sleeve was 28" to cut

b. WRIST CIRCUMFERENCE: measure around your wrist to the fit you prefer.

Add 1" for seam allowance to your measurement.

2. Arrange Fabric and Draw Pattern Using Longer Measurements

Lay out your fabric in two layers so you can save time by cutting both sleeves at once.

The fabric direction should run the length of the sleeve.

First center the pattern piece for the short sleeve near an edge of your fabric. and pin in place.

1. In the center of your pattern piece, at the highest point of the curve, measure out your shoulder to wrist length. If you have a yard stick, it makes it easier than a tape measure.

2. Using your wrist circumference measurement, you'll draw a line (shown in blue) perpendicular to your centered length (shown with measuring tape). Center the measurement with half on each side of the length/ measuring tape line.

Example: If your wrist circumference (with 1" seam allowance included) was 10" you'll want to make sure 5" is above and 5" is below your measuring tape length line.

3. Connect the original pattern to wrist circumference line.

Shown with the red side lines, you just draw a line to create the sides for a long sleeve.

Once you cut out your longer sleeves, you follow the instructions in the pattern the same, you'll just have a much longer side seam for the long sleeve as opposed to the original short cap sleeve.

Hope this helps and helps make the pattern a fall/ winter option.

I have to admit, my combo of both the maxi long length with the full long sleeves makes the dress seem a bit frumpy/ douty. But a reader wrote me to ask for this tutorial because she was planning to make a longer sleeve with the shorter skirt version for fall. I thought it sounded really cute and the shorter skirt version would probably fix the "pioneer" look I have going on here for a longer sleeve.

I've been thinking about making another (I have too many as it is) with a half length sleeve and the shorter skirt for fall/winter to wear with boots.

Just some ideas!