Tag Archives: pink-shirt

The Pink Shirt, Part 3: Collars

When I made the Blue Gingham Shirt, I intended mainly to test the fit of my pattern draft in a real garment.  So I wasn’t worrying so much about the collar.  I just used the collar I had traced off the original shirt, and didn’t think much of it.

Now that the shirt is done, I’m not happy with the collar.  It doesn’t roll properly, not like the shirt it was copied from. Perhaps I got something wrong when I traced the pattern, perhaps I used too much interfacing and the collar blades are too stiff.  I tried to tame this by making it a button-down, but so far, that hasn’t been successful.

But the main issue with the collar is that I don’t like the style; it’s too large and draws attention away from my face.  So I wanted to find a collar I would be happy with for the Pink Shirt. Continue reading

The Pink Shirt, Part 2

For this installment of the Pink Shirt project, I’m covering (almost) all of the style decisions that are going into the project.

As was apparent from Part 1, if I want a nice pink shirt Brooks Brothers is happy to sell me one for $49.50 – probably less if I can find a discount coupon somewhere.  So, I’d like to come up with a unique item that distinguishes itself from something I can buy off the rack at the store.  That, along with a custom fit, is one of the advantages of being a home sewist.

(You can click or tap any picture for an enlargement).

Pattern and Fit

The Brooks Brothers shirt is a sport shirt.  In the online photo, it has some pretty straight sides.

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I’m planning to use my dress shirt pattern from the Blue Gingham Shirt project, with no major changes to the silhouette.  Coming from a dress shirt origin, mine has more tapered sides (see the screenshot below).

I’m thinking some of the styling will place this shirt somewhere between casual and dressy. Continue reading

The Pink Shirt, Part 1

Many, many years ago I had a pink shirt in my wardrobe.  It was a little too pink, the fabric was a little too heavy, and the shirt was a little too loose fitting.  And somehow it ended up with ballpoint pen marks on one of the sleeves.  So out it went.

I’ve been thinking again about making dress shirts in pastel colors – light green, yellow, blue, and pink.  And then I started seeing these little ads in my Facebook feed.

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Continue reading