Liesl and Co. All Day Shirt

I have entered into the world of sewing menswear! If you had told me a year ago that I would be sewing a flannel plaid button down shirt for my brother I would have thought you were crazy. In fact, once this brother of mine said, "You should make me a flannel shirt," and I just laughed!

I have sewn two other men's patterns in the past year (both t-shirts, one for this brother and one for my dad). I enjoy sewing plaid shirts for myself, so I thought it would be fun to venture out and attempt to sew one for my brother. I found the fabric first (on sale for $3/yard at Cali Fabrics) and then I read some reviews on men's shirts.

Obviously, I decided on the Liesl and Co. All Day Shirt. It had good reviews, I liked the casual style, and I have had good luck with other patterns from this company. This pattern was very well written and I learned so much! I have made plackets and collars before in shirts for myself but there were different techniques used in this pattern. It was a good challenge for me to try something new and learn some new skills in the end.

This a straight medium with no changes made to the pattern. I am still learning about fitting women's patterns and men's fitting is a whole different ballgame! I decided to just go with the pattern as is and see what happens (which is what I usually do in my sewing anyway)! I am not too experienced with fitting, but I think it is a pretty great fit right out of the package! My brother's measurements put him in a size medium. However, I think his neck size is slightly bigger than the medium size and that is something I would change for next time. He is not able to button the very top button on the collar, but he informed me that this does not matter since he never buttons that button anyway.

Check out that placket! I'm super happy with my matching skills here. I was trying to make it work when I cut out the pattern, but I wasn't sure if it work in the end. I am really picky about matching plaid because RTW shirts almost never match. I'm happy to say that the sleeve placket matches nearly perfectly on both sides. I also liked the method used in the pattern.

As much as I love matching plaid, I'm also a lazy sewist and that's why I chose to cut the yoke on the bias! However, I think cutting on the bias adds interesting detail too! I cut the yoke, pockets, and cuffs on the bias for this shirt.

I know you can't see the shirt well in this picture, but I thought it turned out pretty neat!

As much as I like sewing for myself, I enjoy sewing for my siblings too! I think plaid shirts are on my list of favorite things to sew too (since this is the third one this year including the ones I made for myself)! It's not a quick and "easy" project, but it is so satisfying once you are finished.

Have you sewn any men's patterns?

~Elizabeth

Another Cheyenne Tunic

I seem to be sewing everything in doubles this year! This is my second Cheyenne and I hadn't planned on making it until spring or summer. However, Grace of Maker Mountain Fabrics recently hosted a sewalong over on instagram and facebook. I decided to join in the fun and I'm so glad I did! I love my new shirt! 

Check out that matching plaid! Plaid matching can be tedious work, but I really enjoy it because the end result is worth it. Unfortunately, my sleeve cuffs didn't match, but progress, not perfection. 

My first Cheyenne tunic was the button down version, so for this one I decided to do the half placket, no collar version with 3/4 length sleeves. I really like the length of the sleeves when rolled up and I will probably wear it this way most of the time.

I cut the yoke, front placket, and pocket on the bias. I like the interest it adds and it also means I didn't have to match the plaid!

The fabric is a cotton shirting from Cali Fabrics. It has my favorite color in it - turquoise - which is why I bought it. It is nice and light and will be perfect for wearing this spring and summer. It's not quite warm enough to wear outside yet!

I sewed this Cheyenne in a straight size medium. Last time I had graded out to the hips at the large. I think the medium works well. It is somewhat loose fitting, but that is how the pattern was intended.

The sewalong forced me to slow down and really enjoy the sewing process! I like to sew fast and finish projects as quickly as I can. Sometimes, that's okay, but for projects like this you really should take your time and enjoy the process from cutting to finish!

~Elizabeth

Project Run and Play Week 2 // Little Lumberjack

Don't forget to head over to Project Run and Play and vote for your favorite plaid outfit!

I am so excited to be back for week two of Project Run and Play! This week the theme is "Buffalo Guys or Gals." This little guy has been asking me to make him something for awhile, so I thought I'd make a boy outfit this week! I love this picture of him - it really captures his personality.

I love plaid! It is a very popular fashion choice this time of year in Minnesota. I knew I wanted to use red and black plaid because it is so classic!

My little brother's outfit started with the jacket. I was looking through my stash and found this beautiful piece of red and black plaid wool! It was gifted to me a few years ago by a sewing friend and I never found the right use for it until now. It was only about a yard, so I had to be very careful cutting it out!

I started with the Reversible Zippy Hoodie from Kitschy Coo. Instead of making it reversible, I fully lined it in fleece, made a half zipper and added a kangaroo pocket. The pocket is also lined in fleece so it feels soft on my brother's hands.

As you can see, there are "X's" through each plaid square. Since my sewing journey started with quilting, I thought it would be fun to quilt the jacket. To do this, I first cut out all my pattern pieces from the wool and the fleece. I then stacked each wool piece with the matching fleece piece, pinned in a few places and quilted "X's" using my walking foot. After all the pieces were quilted, I was able to sew the jacket together.

I am really happy with this jacket and how well the plaid matched up! I used to be afraid of sewing with plaid, but now it's one of my favorite prints!

In this picture, you can see the inside of the jacket and the quilting detail. I also finished the seams by binding them with bias tape. The layers were quite bulky to sew through, but I didn't break a needle!

After sewing the jacket, I thought my brother needed something to complete the outfit! First, I made him some pants. I drafted a pattern using an existing pair of my brother's jeans. I wanted to make a casual pair of pants and found the perfect piece of black corduroy in my stash!

I wanted to have the pants match the jacket, but still work as a stand alone piece too. I decided to add a rectangular piece of the wool plaid to the knees. The patches are backed with fleece and quilted, so it will feel soft during wear. My brothers are tough on their pants, so the knee patches will also help keep these durable.

My favorite part of the pants are the back pockets! I traced the pockets on his jeans to come up with an accurate shape. Then I handstitched a "D" on each pocket with red thread for the first letter of his name. He loves it, and it adds a nice personal touch!

I made little belt loops using scrap strips of the corduroy. There are front pockets, which I drew onto the pattern piece and cut out. Next time I would make them a little deeper, but they work! I also did a faux fly and topstitched with red thread to make it stand out. I used this tutorial as a reference for drawing the faux fly onto my pattern piece. The red button is decorative, but I liked how it complements the red in the plaid!

The waistband has elastic in the back and is flat in the front making for a comfortable pair of pants for a 9 year old boy!

As you can see, it is the perfect outfit for a little boy on the move!

Last, but not least, I wanted to make a shirt to complete the outfit. I found some scrap pieces of knit plaid in my stash (from Girl Charlee) and I had just enough to do some color blocking. I used the School Bus T-Shirt from Oliver + S because it fits my brother well. I chopped the front piece right under the armscye to add the color blocking. I also cut the neckband on the bias to add some interest.

My little brothers love to juggle! We had so much fun taking these pictures at our local apple orchard!

Thank you so much for reading and don't forget to head over to Project Run and Play and VOTE for your favorite look!

~Elizabeth

Novelista Shirt

Hello! Although it has been quiet here on the blog, I have been sewing! Today I have the Novelista Shirt sewn in plaid flannel. If you remember my fall sewing list, I had wanted to make a plaid flannel shirt, but better late than never, right?

I actually sewed this in December and only recently had the opportunity to take pictures. It is very comfortable and I have been wearing it a lot. It is the perfect shirt for this cold Minnesota winter weather!

Fall Fashion Challenge - Day 6

Shirt: thrift store
Plaid skirt: gift from my mom
boots: thrift store

Today's challenge was to wear a fall trend. I chose to wear plaid. My mom just surprised me with the skirt last week. I think it may be one of my new favorite skirts for fall. It's flannel and perfect for the chilly weather here! I added the pink shirt so there would be color in my outfit. What do you think?