A Flannel Shirt

May 6, 2016 by ThreadTheory 6 Comments

Thanks for the wonderful response to the Fairfield Button-up Shirt release on Monday!  It has been an exciting week for us at the Thread Theory HQ: A couple of our new shirtmaking supplies (the hemp/organic cotton shirting and the expanding sewing gauge) sold out almost immediately upon release.  Your enthusiastic emails and comments on the blog and Instagram had me replying in a frenzy of excessive exclamation marks.  To top it all off, Matt and I placed an offer on our very first house last Sunday and heard that it was accepted on pattern launch day!

Things are calming down very slightly now (thank goodness…I can only enjoy the feeling of butterflies in my stomach for so long!).  We have re-ordered our sold out products and have plans to launch some of the pattern add-ons that we promised next week.  Stay tuned for some awesome collar variations!

On Monday, swept up in the enthusiasm of the moment, I committed to photographing Matt in his handmade clothing for Me Made May by posting on Instagram.  This flannel Fairfield (one of the earliest samples that I sewed during pattern development) and his waxed Jutlands were the first outfit that I photographed for this month of celebrating our handmade wardrobes.

I have never taken part in Me Made May before and didn’t realize how difficult it would be to capture a picture of Matt each day in handmade garb…especially when he was finally given permission to wear his new flannel shirt since the pattern released.  Between his fire hall work uniform and this flannel shirt, he hasn’t worn anything else all week!

I suppose I could snap some pictures of Matt in his many pairs of Comox Trunks to post for Me Made May each day but I’m not sure he would be very enthusiastic about that idea!  I guess I will just take a photo each time he is wearing something different and not worry too much about capturing a fresh hand made outfit each day.

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Anyways, enough about Me Made May, let’s talk about a few details on this shirt:

I sewed it as a wearable mock-up while writing the pattern instructions.  I used a cheap flannel from my local fabric shop as a way to practice my plaid matching.  I don’t think I would normally use this fabric for anything except for pajama bottoms or rag quilts but now that it has been sewn into a button-up I think I’ve stumbled on a new form of secret pajamas!  In fact, I have grabbed this shirt a few times to wear as pajamas and Matt has been wearing it often at times when he would regularly be wearing his grubby sweater and sweatpants.

As you can see in these photos, I had fun with the plaid print – I cut the pocket on the bias and carefully matched the yoke to the shirt back.  I was so proud of my perfectly aligned plaid across the shirt front but managed to destroy the effect when I applied the snaps.  I mistakenly applied the male part of the snap about 1/4″ higher than the female part so the shirt fronts are slightly askew.  I don’t actually find it noticeable when Matt is moving around but I can really notice it in these photos!  It might be worth taking out the male snaps and re-installing them.

Speaking of matching prints, what are your thoughts on matching the print on the sleeve placket?  I was just talking about this with my sewing friend the other day – we both agreed that not only do we shudder at the thought of trying to match prints in this situation, we also find that the finished look is too fussy.  We prefer when the placket print does not line up with the design on the rest of the sleeve (as you can see in the photo above).  I like how the sleeve placket is highlighted rather than camouflaged.  Do you have a preference?