Bespoke menswear

Using the pattern I created when I 'fitted' my husband for a shirt for my college assignment a few weeks ago I made a proper shirt for himthis week.  I made the collar a bit shorter and attached short sleeves instead of long sleeves (we are coming into summer here so it was a good excuse to not have to sew cuffs and plackets!).

My husband is really happy with how the shirt feels and I am really happy with how well it fits - and the good fit is what makes it feel so nice to wear!  I love how smooth the fabric is across chest between his shoulders, so many men wear shirts that don't fit properly across there.  Next time you see a man wearing a button up shirt (you'll really notice this if you work in an office) have a look at how his shirt fits.  There are usually lots of 'drag lines' or the armhole seam doesn't sit on the end of their shoulder.  I've really been noticing this a lot lately in meetings and then I get distracted and start thinking about what pattern adjustments need to be made to give the guys I work with a well fitted shirt - what a shame I work in an office instead of a tailors shop! 

Details

Pattern: less than an hour to make the new collar, shorten the sleeves and adjust the shoulders

Cost: fabric, thread and buttons = a bit under $20 (tall men need lots of fabric!!)

Sewing: about 3.5 hours (+ hand sewing on the buttons while watching TV).  I used the buttonhole foot attachment on my sewing machine for the first time.  It worked!