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.

Hemp Shirt...by Client Request

Recently I was discussing a client's wardrobe needs. He told me about a favorite shirt that he has had for many years that is now nearly in shreds. He asked if I would design a similar style, this time from hemp. This shirt is the result...
...its slightly rumpled "distressed" look is entirely intentional.

I suggested buttons on the chest pockets,
but the client opted for open pockets.

Made from a cotton/hemp blend from Hemp Traders, the fabric was  distressed by washing it several times in hot water with a splash of vinegar.

After the shirt was sewn,
it was distressed further by "sanding" random areas.



SEWING NOTES:
Fabric from Hemp Traders. Interfaced with Pro-Weft Fusible Interfacing from
~Fashion Sewing Supply~

Indigo Hemp Shirt

This mens shirt looks like denim, but is actually indigo hemp twill. The design is original (from a hand-drafted pattern), and features flat-fell seam details and band collar.

Men's Hemp Shirt With Vintage Styling

I was recently commissioned by a client to design a shirt based on a circa 1940's pattern that he found at an estate sale. A fan of my "prince seam", he asked that it be incorporated into the design. My client also requested his favorite pocket, my "cigar" pocket that features one straight side and one curved side. This tobacco-brown hemp shirt is the result of my slight redesign of the vintage pattern draft.

Vintage details to notice include the high set and wide spread of the collar and the long, almost elbow-length sleeve plackets.

AWARD WINNING book with featured ~Off The Cuff~ hemp shirt