A Christmas Negroni

My Father-in-law is perhaps the easiest person in the world to buy for.
He has a very quirky sense of humour, enjoys a good joke gift and is also quite widely read and interested in many different topics.
Being an artist he is also very attuned to hand-crafted items and loves to receive something made just for him.

See the water over his left shoulder, nice view for breakfast each morning!

In the past I have made him a hat and some shorts and they have both been very well received and worn a lot, so after trying my hand at a simple men's shirt pattern and finding it relatively stress-free to make, I decided to give the slightly more technical, Negroni by Walden (Colette) patterns a go for his Christmas present.

I'd like to have made this a size smaller but he is very happy with the 'relaxed' fit of this shirt.

The Negroni has had great reviews from many people on Pattern Review and on blogs throughout the world.

Lara has made a couple for Mr Thornberry including the wonderful fish (as opposed to fishing!) shirt, Leith has also made two, including this lovely Liberty one and has plans for a few more and there are lots of great versions over here at Very Purple Person.

The pattern is slim-fit, and although it is not something I have ever been aware of, my husband said my father-in-law is a little conscious if his middle. For this reason, when cutting the shirt I straightened out the sides, not coming in at the waist to the extent of the pattern.

Pleats on either side of the back yoke for ease of movement

This is the XL and I feel it's a little too big for him, see how it's dropping off at the shoulders, particularly in the first photo. But he was delighted with it and, despite having also been given a shirt by my Mother-in-law, he immediately put mine on and wore it all Christmas day.

I didn't get a picture of it, but because of the method of construction, the inside of the shirt has a lovely neat finished look.

You can see in the picture above I offset the pattern of the fabric for the pocket by 45 degrees so it could be seen, as without this little detail the shirt is very simple.

Other features of this pattern are the two pleats in the back, providing great ease around the shoulders for movement and flat-felled seams throughout.
It was my first attempt at flat-felled seams and although mine are nowhere near perfect I was pretty happy with the result.

After he had worn it Christmas Day I did take it back and shorten the sleeves by 6cm (the shortened sleeves are shown in these photos) as they were quite long and he preferred this length.

If you are thinking of sewing one - the sewalong that was run by Peter of Male Pattern Boldness, when the pattern was first released, is worth having a look at.

PATTERN:        Negroni
                           Purchased online from The Drapery, SA.

DESIGNER:      Walden by Colette Patterns

FABRIC:            Linen blend that is remarkably crease-free purchased at a one day sale at an Italian
                            fabric wholesaler.
       

Close up on Jasmine

You saw this shirt in the post from yesterday but I thought I'd share a few extra details with you.

To date I haven't done a lot of sewing for myself. 

Largely because I have had issues with fit. Or really me not knowing how to get a good fit and so not wearing the things I make, which puts me off making more.

I made this shirt straight off the pattern and it fits me perfectly.

It's bias cut which means there are no zips or buttons to contend with. (Pieces are not cut with the grain of the fabric but across it).

The down side of that is that you use a lot of fabric to get it all cut out and you need to take your time when positioning the front and back pieces to ensure the pattern will match when you sew the front and back seams.

This shirt has lovely details that are perhaps a little hard to see due to the pattern.

There is a little tie on the collar at the front, the two pieces are tucked through a small loop so you don't have to worry about how you tie them together, they just stay where they should.

The sleeves have a band on the end and there is a gently curved collar at the neckline, details that would be more evident if I made it with a contrasting collar and sleeve bands.
Which is what I think I will do next time - as there will definitely be a next time with this shirt.

Even the pattern itself is very sweet.

It's a booklet...

...with very clear step by step instructions and great illustrations...

...and a pocket at the back for the pattern and any notes you want to make for next time.

I'd highly recommend this pattern to a confident beginner sewist.
Make it easier on yourself for the first try and don't use a directional print - instead try it with something like a dot - or a solid.

If this pattern is anything to go by then I am looking forward to getting some time to cut into the Colette Clover pants I plan to make.


THE NITTY GRITTY

THE PATTERN: Jasmine by Colette. (View B)

THE FABRIC: Voile from Spotlight