Now that the Sewing Lawyer is retired, there are vanishingly few occasions for the wearing of anything resembling a suit, but (surprise!) the stash is full of wool that was bought over the years to match dreams of future office finery. But it's too nice not to use. So I've come around to the idea of more casual wool clothing that won't demand to be dry cleaned.
My first foray in this field was making a shirt for my son for Christmas. He has recently taken to wearing wool shirts as a work alternative to a jacket and didn't reject the idea of a mom-made version.
I considered using this McCall's unisex shirt pattern from 2003 that I had in my collection but had never used.On taking a close look at its shape, I decided to look further. This shirt is seriously boxy, has back pleats and very wide shoulders.
I spent some quality time with Google, looking for a suitable pattern with a more modern silhouette. I came across mention of the Wardrobe by Me Overshirt pattern.
While it doesn't have a stand collar, its other features seemed just right. It's a clean silhouette with no back pleats, has a sleeve placket opening in a seam in the sleeve, and the hem is pleasantly curved with side slits.
I showed my husband two lengths of wool suiting acquired from the stash of a retiring tailor. He thought my son would like the neutral windowpane check better than a length of dark blue that I would have chosen.
I threw the yardage into the machine for a cold water wash on a regular cycle. It came out slightly fulled. Not only was the fabric slightly thicker, even after a really good steam pressing, but the windowpane lines were pleasantly blurry. It shrank more in the length than the width, so the windowpanes were shorter rectangles than previously.
Then I was back in the world of matching plaid. Sewing this shirt was straightforward except for the placket opening instructions, which I think I fudged slightly. As usual, the stash came through for everything, except my button collection let me down.
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ReplyDeleteThanks for including such thorough explanation of how the wool survived the wash! Great garments, both of them. I would like to find a retiring tailor from whom to procure some wool! (Removed previous comment since editing was not an option!)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great shirt and love your ideas for using up your wool stash
ReplyDeleteI love the shirt and your pants. I too have wool and suitings in the stash but am now retired. Thanks for the ideas.
ReplyDeleteThey both look great, and the pants fit is superb!
ReplyDeleteBoth wonderful garments. That transition to non-suit sewing can be challenging but I think you've got it managed.
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