Boy Wear

.
.

After making oodles of pairs of shorts for River I decided he needed a shirt. A simple, handsome button down shirt.

If you follow Because I'm Me on facebook you've already seen a little preview of this shirt. I was so excited about it I couldn't wait to share.

The idea of brown with a contrast wouldn't leave me, so brown it was going to be. I was thrilled to find this dark brown and white fabric on sale for $2.50 a yard at JoAnn's, with an extra 25% off on top of that.

I chose orange for the contrast. This orange has very simple flowers and brown dots on it. A good match while still being a little "off the beaten path". I'd considered green or red, but the orange won out in the end.

I had intended for the orange fabric to be the backside of the collar, as it is, and the backside of the button and buttonhole sections, as it is not. The fabric would just barely be visible.

Unfortunately, I cut the front fabric in the wrong place. I went with it, nervously, not having enough fabric to recut the pieces, and now have about 1/2" of the orange showing up the front.

While the end result isn't quite what I'd planned I'm really happy with it and River loves it. I will make another shirt soon the way I'd originally planned, but in the meantime I have no regrets about this one.

The pattern is Butterick 3475. This was the first pattern I've sewn from in years. I can't stand spending money on patterns so I just don't use them, but I have decided to watch the sales and pick up a few good ones when the prices are right.

I did get a little frustrated with the pattern when it came time to sew the collar and finish the facings, so I did it my own way, adding a little tacking that wasn't called for and some edge stitching that seemed necessary for the shirt to look "right" to me.