Preppy Shirt Progress

I am cautiously optimistic about this shirt, readers!

Normally, I never wear shirts from cotton fabric this thick.  But as the shirt takes shape, I am loving the result.  The cotton is heavy, yes, but not stiff or cheap feeling.  It's heavy like silk satin -- very luxurious.

The herringbone stripe, while subtle, is unforgiving: if the stripes don't match it's obvious (to me at least).  It's also a bit hard on the eyes; after a few hours at the sewing machine, my eyes start to cross.

A few construction notes:

1.  Despite being unfamiliar with this pattern's method of attaching the front placket (discussed in my last post), I was able to get a good result.  I wasn't going to interface the placket given the thickness of the fabric, but I'm glad I did.  It adds just enough extra crispness to be valuable.



2.  For the first time ever, I attached a shirt pocket before attaching sleeves and collar!





3.  The pattern is drafted with two balanced gathers in the back (below the yoke).  I substituted a central pleat.  Gathers are hard to press and end up looking shmushed -- is that a word?





4.  The pattern calls for flat-felled seams formed on the outside of the shirt (see below), as opposed to the inside.  I use this method only when I make jeans.  I made my seams on the inside.



5. The instructions for the sleeve plackets used a method that was new to me.  I did as directed and the results were fine.





I am hoping to finish my shirt tomorrow; cross your fingers.



In other news, I purchased some Calvin Klein T-shirts online last week and you would not believe the amount of packaging they came with.  Do three T-shirts really need to come in a zippered plastic pouch?  Am I supposed to store them in there between wearings?





Why is each shirt folded around a core of cardboard and taped closed?  There were about ten pieces of tape per shirt.





So.  Much.  Waste.





I hope to find a storage-related use for that pouch.  Any suggestions?

And that's it!  I hope your projects are all going well and you're staying warm.

Have a great day, everybody!