Men’s Shirt Pattern: McCall’s 6613

m6613_cover_smMcCall’s 6613 has to be the most unique of the four patterns here. First of all, look at that cover photo. I think there’s something going on.

Secondly, this pattern is made by the duo of Pati Palmer and Susan Pletsch. Not only are they well-known pattern designers, they also have their own pattern fitting system that’s described in a series of books called “Fit for Real People” and its companion “Pants for Real People”. This pattern not only is designed around their pattern fitting system, it even includes a special set of instructions describing the basics of their method:

m6613_fitting_sheetI checked out “Fit for Real People” from the library recently, and though it definitely has some useful info I decided that the book, and the approach, were not my cup of tea. (That’s a topic for another post). But here, we’re looking at what this shirt pattern has to offer. On the surface, it seems similar to McCall’s 6044, but there’s one big difference: this pattern is unisex!

You can click or tap to see a larger photo.

Front

m6613_frontHere’s a shot of the shirt front piece, and you can see that it has a point for a bust apex, as well as two “Palmer/Pletsch” fitting lines which I think might be for dart placement. But I’m not sure.

Back

m6613_back_detailHere’s a portion of the back piece, again showing custom fit lines that can be used for swayback adjustment and other pattern fit modifications.

Sleeve

m6613_sleeve_b m6613_sleeve_a Like McCall’s 6044, this pattern also has a two-piece sleeve, this one with additional fitting lines that are part of the Palmer/Pletsch fitting system.

Sleeve Placket

m6613_sleeve_tab Like most other patterns I’ve reviewed, this one also lacks a true tower placket, instead offering a “sleeve tab” to cover that area. Boo.

Collar

m6613_collar Like Simplicity 2741, this pattern has a pretty simplistic collar that lacks an under-collar piece that’s slightly smaller than the top collar.

Front Band

m6613_front_bandAgain, this pattern has the mysterious front band whose purpose I haven’t quite fully divined yet.

Summary

I’m ruling this one out for now, on the basis of the placket and the collar. When I come back to this pattern, I might substitute a tower placket and tweak the collar construction. But I’m also a bit unnerved by the unisex nature of the pattern and I’d rather stick with a true “men’s” design for my first shirt-making attempt.