No Pointed Collar and Rough Around the Edges

This original shirt design was made for one of my favorite clients...who lets me freely experiment with fabric and design. His only requests? "No pointed collar, black fabric, and make it look sort of rough."

Here's the result...
A supremely comfortable band collar shirt with a "Prince Seam"
made from a Medium-weight silk/hemp blend fabric.

Making it "rough" was fun! Usually I distress fabric before I cut and sew. This time I pre-washed the fabric very gently...just to get some of the "shrink" out of it. Then I took it out of the dryer and merely smoothed out the fabric...leaving some fine wrinkles....and cut and sewed the shirt. After it was complete, I tossed it into the washer along with several (clean) tennis balls, and ran it through 10 (yes ten!) cycles. Don't worry. I didn't waste water, I just kept re-setting the cycle. After a long tumble in the dryer (set on hot), the shirt was gloriously soft, the flat-fell seams nicely puckered and "worn looking", and the fabric slightly faded.

Here is the back view....showing the edge-stitched box pleat.

The best part? My client is thrilled with his new shirt...and that's what it's all about!

Sewing Notes: Hand-drafted Original Design, Buttons and Pro-Woven Shirt-crisp Fusible Interfacing from ~Fashion Sewing Supply~, Fabric from Hemp Traders.