Sewing Vloggers

Friday, February 28, 2014

McCall's 6613, the Denim Work Shirt

 A very long time ago my baby brother left a denim shirt at my house. I thought it was my daughter's or husband's when it was found but it was brother's. I called him and he didn't want it back, said it was old and nasty. I proclaimed it mine. Let me tell you, I wore this oversized work shirt everywhere. It was so comfy. I could jazz it up with jewelry, white jeans, a leather belt, you name it. It belied it's humble beginnings. After some years it started to fall apart. No problem. I still wore it for painting and gardening around the house. It was great for keeping away the black flies with its collar buttons and long sleeves. One day I had to face it. It was falling apart and was cast to the rag bag to rub away paint with turpentine. I have been grieving ever since.

I have always wanted to make another. The reason I didn't was finding the right fabric. It was not a light chambray nor was it a heavy denim. One day I stumbled upon a pretty good facsimile at our local Joanns and scoffed it up. For a pattern I picked McCalls 6613, a unisex work shirt, perfectly fitting my memory of my brother's shirt. It looked just like the denim shirt on the cover  of the pattern.
Now let's get something straight here. I am not making a fitted shirt here. I am making an oversized, drop shouldered denim work shirt. If it comes out the way I hope I will make more. I have made some "feminizing" adjustments which I think are necessary. The "small" size has a 42 inch bust/chest measurement, uh, not quite what  fits me. I have also found the details are more "man-sized" and I don't like that.
     
I pulled out an old shirt that I like, one with a similar over-sized fit and started measuring the details. Once I started comparing I realized I wanted the collar band a bit more narrow and those collar points a little less John Travolta in Saturday Night Live. I have also made adjustments on the pattern for a shorter length and  shorter and  less full sleeve. The sleeve in this pattern is VERY wide, too wide, very "guy".
All is now cut out and ready for marking. I had a day off today and two more to come so hopefully this will get done this weekend. Then it will be wait for another fabric shipment before I get started on some knit tops. Love those Amazon cards! Have you purchased fabric through Amazon? Here is one piece that came this week. I am waiting for I think five more.  This one is a black linen and white cotton weft piece from Kaufman  that has a really nice weight for pants. We'll see!,,,,,Bunny


10 comments:

  1. I totally know this shirt. Glad you found a way to reincarnate it.

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    Replies
    1. I am so glad you know my love. You understand.

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    2. I didn't know Amazon sold fabric. When I made my son a flannel shirt for Christmas I was thinking that I would love to make one for myself. There is something comfy/comforting about an oversized guy shirt. I can't wait to see how your shirt turns out.

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    3. Amazon owns Fabric.com now. There are also other fabric vendors on there as well. Just google "fabric by the yard" in the search engine. I get real specific otherwise you are looking all night.

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    4. I had no idea. Since I don't drive, I'm going to have to re-think my Amazon/drone position. Fabric dropped to my door in 45 minutes? Oh yeah!

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  2. I've been looking for the *perfect* shirt weight denim, too....

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  3. I've been looking for that *perfect* shirt weight denim, too...

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  4. I can just picture your bro's shirt .. the good old standby...so cozy, comfy, sturdy. That kind of fabric is hard to find . was it denim or a flannel blend? The piece you found at JoAnn looks really nice .. is it labeled as denim? Your new shirt will be great, and you'll have a clone of your favorite back in use.

    And FYI -- Amazon has owned fabric.com for years.

    http://www.informationweek.com/applications/amazoncom-acquires-fabriccom/d/d-id/1069272

    They also own Zappo's and now the WashingtonPost, among many, many other businesses. They're monstrously huge .. Wiki gives much detail .. mind boggling.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon.com#Acquisitions_and_investments.

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    Replies
    1. I guess that's why it's called the "Everything Store".

      The fabric was in with the denims. It has a much softer hand and is just a bit heavier than a chambray. No jeans for this one, too drapey. It's a hundred per cent cotton.

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  5. I love reading your blog but I am finding it quite challenging. The reason is that because you have a very wide orange space to the right of your page, all your writing is minimised. I try to enlarge it but every time I move around it reverts to the mini sized writing. Would it be possible for you to change the layout on your website please? Thanks a million!

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