In my first post this year I said I wanted to make the clothes I needed. Here’s the first! Consistent with my nature, I think I tackled the hardest one first. Not on purpose. I really, truly planned to start easy and work my way up to more and more complicated, but I got impatient! At the very end of December I warped both my looms; my rigid heddle with a lovely wool silk blend ( Rustic Silk by Ella Rae) for a shirt and my floor loom with some Briggs and Little Sock for a hoodie. The hoodie was supposed to be the easy project. But I ran out of yarn (that’s another story, I’ll tell you about it another time!).
Back to my shirt. I warped 4 yards, wove as much as I possibly could, slightly fulled the fabric (also known as felting on purpose) and ended up with just about 3 yards x 28” of gorgeous fabric. I admired it for a day or two while I wrestled with myself…find a pattern and just do it or be patient and get a little more experience. (The patience battle was lost before it ever began but waiting made it look like I was really trying to be disciplined. I did at least buy a pattern, initially I seriously contemplated making my own, so there is that!)
I scoured Pinterest and found exactly the shirt I was looking for. Flannel style, proper collar, hood option, full button up or half button option, long sleeve, short sleeve…the options are numerous. The pattern is called “Julianne” and I got it from The Do It Better Yourself Club (DIBY Club…they have a facebook group and can be followed on Instagram) Just so you know, buying a pattern online, printing it at home on a home printer and taping it all together is a lot of work. Worth it if you want it right away though! I spent an evening (and maybe early morning) printing, taping and cutting the pattern.
I wanted the full collar but after creatively laying out my pieces had to settle for the half collar. This is where planning and sampling are so important. I did actually weave a sample (!) but finished it differently. My fulling reduced the yardage significantly. Also, had I purchased the pattern before warping I would have known exactly how much fabric I needed instead of guessing. Even so, the cuffs were cut across the grain instead of with the grain and my inside yoke is two pieces not one.
And sewing! Here I really did slow down. My impulse is to sew until I’m done. (Sleep is definitely over-rated). I even sewed a few scraps first to see how the fabric would sew. For Christmas this year I got this fabulous kits with numerous sewing machine feet, one of which was a walking foot. Oh. My. Goodness. What a difference! The seams went together beautifully and the pattern matched. If you are tempted even a little to sew your weaving, get a walking foot. Also, the overcast foot! Amazing! Check out these seams!! Had high hopes for the rolled hem foot but my fabric was too thick. I sewed slowly and carefully. One thing about handwovens, you don’t want to have to pick a seam out. I did have one seam to rip out…sometimes instructions are confusing. I was surprised at how easy the sewing went together. I’m sure it is thanks to a great pattern…I highly recommend it. They even have videos if you need extra help (no, I’m not being paid to advertise).
Choosing buttons was fun! I took my shirt to work and laid out all the possibilities. After thinking I wanted something fancy, I ultimately choose the plain and simple. Square fit with the pattern and fancy was too much. Button holes were hard! I couldn’t use my button hole foot because it wouldn’t slide on the fabric. But if you are close enough to me to see my button holes clearly you are too close!
Over all, I’m really pleased with it! Cuffs need some work…on the next one, these ones are staying put.