Just Another Bowling Shirt

I really have to come up with some way to spice up these shirts for JB.  Honestly - I'm getting bored with sewing them and I'm sure you're tired of reading about them.  Honestly, there is nothing new to say.  I'm still using McCalls 4399 and just changing up the fabrics, buttons and how I sew the hems and button bands - as in accents with the thread. 

This fabric was a quilting cotton that I purchased at the craft store probably 5 years ago.  I liked the print.  I bought 4 yards - which is honestly about 1/2 yard too much, but I like knowing I can match the print across the button bands.  Once I got fussy about matching the pattern across the button bands, I started cutting the shirt out from a single layer of fabric.  I have a full back pattern piece and only 1 front pattern, 1 sleeve and 1 collar.  Oh and the pocket pattern which I trace off several.  I did a blog post back in October about how I match the pattern - you can read it here.  So far, I haven't been too worried about matching the print up across the side seams, but I imagine that's coming next.  

In this photo - JB is showing you the barn door he installed over the panty opening in the B&B.  He did a great job.  That door gets so many comments.  

Nobody know what's he's doing here.  But he was ready for me to snap the photo so he could breathe!  Doesn't this fabric scream tropical vacation?  

In this photo, you can see I nailed the print matching!  Also - can you spot the pocket?  This shirt has one.  In fact, all of his recent shirts have a pocket - he needs someplace to keep his glasses!  The buttons were in a baggie of shirt buttons I either added from a FabricMart purchase or from Fashion Sewing Supply - I can't remember which.  They were perfect for this shirt.  I always add 7 buttons, so they are spaced a little closer than the pattern indicates.  I use my simflex for positioning the buttons evenly up the placket and start the first one at the bottom, the same distance as the side slits.  

 

Print Matching

While my wardrobe has become decidedly more casual - JB's has become a bit more dressy - if you will.  See - he helps in the kitchen in the morning, preparing the first course, helping plate & serve the main course and doing the dishes.  So, he's started wearing his bowling shirts with jeans.  Now he had quite a few that we've purchased over the years in Hawaii, Key West and at Disney and I've made him a few.  But he wanted more.  

The more I've made, the more I've wanted to get better at pattern matching over the button placket.  I still haven't figure out how to match the pattern at the side seams as well - but I figure the side seams aren't as noticeable as the button placket.  

So, I have no idea if this is right - but it's what I do and it works for me.  I thought maybe it would help some one else.  So - here goes nothing.  


I use McCalls 4399 mens shirt pattern which is long out of print.  My envelope has a date of 2004 on it.  Also I use view A, short sleeves with the side seams left open for a bit at the bottom.  

I trace 90% of my patterns onto exam table paper and keep the original pattern intact.  No real reason, it's just what I do. And in this case, I'm glad I've done that - I've made other changes to the pattern to add contrast fabrics.  

Anyway - once the fabric has been washed and ironed - I cut the shirt out single layer.  Cutting the left front shirt piece first.  I have to remind myself often that girls are always right and boys are left out.  So, the left front has the buttonholes and goes on top of the right front.  Once the front has been cut out - I then go over to the ironing board and fold the facing back on the center front line.  I know that this is not where the facing will ultimately be folded, but I figure if I can match the pattern at the center front - then it should match coming out of the placket - so far this has worked for me in actual practice.  

folded back on center front

Then, I take the left front back to the yardage and line the print up as close to an exact match as I can get.  Smoothing the left front over the yardage and making sure everything stays matched.   

Lining up the pattern at the center front

Next, I grab my pattern piece with the facing folded back and butt it right up against the left front - making sure I have my pattern piece the right way up.  I carefully lift up the folded facing and start pinning the tissue to the fabric, being careful not to shift anything.  Once the exposed part of the pattern is pinned in place, I remove the left front, fold the facing flat, finish pining and then cut the right front out.  

Tissue being placed next to left front - red line added to show pattern piece on top of yardage

For the pocket - before removing the tissue from the left front, I slip the pocket piece under the left front piece, matching the top of the pocket with the markings on the pattern piece.  Actually - I've found for JB, that the pocket is almost under his armpit when I put it where the pattern has it, so I move it a bit toward the center front.  

Once I have everything lined up the way I want it, I remove the shirt tissue and trace some large identifying designs onto the pocket pattern.  As I was cutting a bunch of shirts - I cut a bunch of pocket blanks.  I then match my really horrible drawings to the fabric, pin & cut.  

Once you've done all this, stack all the pieces together neatly.   Fold and put in a stack on the corner of your sewing table until you feel like assembling a bunch of shirts.  

I hope this helps someone else who's struggling with pattern matching.  As I said, it might not be proper way - but it works for me.  

I Traded My Holiday Dress for This

I decided the week before Christmas to make JB a new bowling shirt.  I still have about 3 yards of the Eagle green logo'd cotton that I bought a couple years ago to make him some sleep pants.  I've made him everything from this fabric:  sleep pants, camera strap, eyeglass case, and luggage tags.  Yea, I know the Eagles hired Micheal Vick, but he's a fan of the team and he's not gonna switch now because they made a decision lots of people don't agree with.

Anyway - I wanted to make a shirt, but the Eagles fabric needed to be an accent.  Not the entire shirt.  He loves bowling style shirts and Charlie Harper's style.  Any of you Two and Half Men fans?

Armed with the inspiration photo and my Eagles yardage I hit JoAnn's.  It really is the only game in town - sadly.  I came up with some grey kona cotton that matched and grey buttons.  Then I traced my shirt front again, and split it.  I made big notes on the pattern pieces to add seam allowances to the one edge.  I should have stay stitched the neck edge, because it's wobbly as all get out - but it's hidden under the collar.  I couldn't fight with it any more. 

I spent the better part of the last Sunday before Christmas working on his shirt rather than making a new dress from my office holiday party.  I'm happy I did this.  JB really likes it. 

Yea - I know it's wrinkled but this is probably as good as it will ever look again.  How sad is that?

Obsess Much

Wednesday Already?

Saturday morning we got up early, loaded up the jeep and headed to Canada. Nope - we weren't going to see any Olympic events - we were going to see JB's dad.

We stopped at Duty Free and I spotted this cute little handbag. We will be in Mexico soon and this bag will carry everything and not get too heavy - sunglasses, wallets, passports. you know everything I have to keep track of.

I think it will also hold the necessary knitting! Horrible photos of a really cute bag that the clerk at Duty Free convinced JB that I had to have. Happy Valentine's to me!

A Peak Into JB's Mind

Scary thought - I know! This is how one of my gifts looked on Christmas morning. Can you see the magic marker all over the wrapping paper? I'm pretty sure you can't read it - let me tell you what it says:

*It's amaxing what runs by the back yard.

"&" where u have to ship to for quality workmanship . . . "Aussies"

The Fex Ex guy doesn't like paw prints for signatures either. Good things there's 4 of us to vouch for package & the Australian Sheprd . . .

What a b*tch! Lucy set her strait tho, anyway Happy Holidays - Beau, Lucy, Abby & Duds

So this is how his crazy mind works. He had an entire story worked out. See that little blue lump in this photo? Over here -->

That's a "dead lamb" that was Lucy's.

So - the dogs found "sheep" running through the backyard. Killed it (there's evidence of that) and then shipped it off to Australia to get something made.

Apparently, the Australian woman they were dealing with wasn't very nice - but Lucy managed to set her straight. When the package was delivered - the Fed Ex guy was less than thrilled with a paw print signature - but he eventually left the package.

So what was in the package you ask? My new slippers!

Cloud soft Australian slippers. Love them! Funny, but sadly true, story. Hope your holidays are filled with crazy stories like this one.

Liar, Liar

pants on fire. Me that is. I promised that my next crafty post would be sewing and it's not. I haven't been sewing. What with the current events in my life and the Indiana girls visiting. So what you get is a new finished knitting project. On Tuesday before heading downstairs to meet the gals, I raced downstairs to find sock yarn that didn't need to be wound. This is what I came up with. It KnitPicks Felici in the Fireman Colorway. I started them in the car Tuesday and finished them on Sunday. They are knit toe up, two at a time, magic-looping all the way. 68 stitches on the foot, 1x ribbing over the arch, short row no wrap heel. I decreased 8 stitches after the heel and another 4 before I started the ribbing. He spent the last couple of days finishing the new doors on the back of the house. While you can't really see them in the photo they are now the same deep purple as my front door. And since JB promised not to clean up any paint or stain with his new socks, I let him wear them. Oh and for anyone keeping track - this is pair 15 for the year, 14 from stash yarns and 12 started and finished this year.

finished object

the remake of the ankle socks for JB is complete. he wore them and although he wishes the ribbing was tighter i don't know what to do to fix it. these were knit on US1s over 56 stitches. the foot is stockinette with 1x1 ribbing around the arch. this time i used another new to me heel - the no-wrap short row heel. it worked fabulously and there are no gaps and no pesky wrap stitches to pick up! yea. since JB loves a short row heel best this will be the one i turn to from now on.

hopefully soon there will be sewing.

Opps!

I have been working on the fixation socks for JB. He wanted short socks to wear in the summer and fixation has a nice cotton content. I have been having him try them on all along the way - until I got past the heel that is. At that point I just made them to exactly match the pair of little short socks he recently purchased. Well apparently those socks are a bit too short! So, I finished them last night, wove in the ends and everything. I tossed them to him this morning to try on with his shoes - and he doesn't like them. I swear knitting for spouses can be so frustrating. I asked if he'd like me to take them apart and make them taller - no, I guess they'll be okay. Well I'd really like it if you liked them, I say. Finally - they would be better if they were a bit taller. I noticed that the heel is about 1/2 an inch too far back. So out them come to before the heel, and I'll do them again. It really would be nice if he wore them!

personal yarn crawl - part 2

according to my Ravelry search for yarn stores in the area we were last weekend, there were 7. the first one we stopped at was closed the first day we went through. then on Friday we found out that one of the two in Wenatchee was out of business and the other didn't open until late - but we couldn't tell what time exactly because her open/closed sign was over her hours. so we headed to the two in Chelan. the first one we found easily. it was a quilting shopping who had a small bit of yarn at one time, but not any longer. after driving around in Circles we finally found warehouse woolery. the shop was small and lovely. the owner also has a business making curtain and doing what looked like some re-upholstery. she also has an office basset hound, but unfortunately miss hound dog got left home that day. my goal when visiting not my LYS is to purchase items I can't purchase at home. I'm pretty sure I failed miserably at that goal this trip. first JB saw the cascade fixation. he is on a mission to get some handknit short socks for wearing in the summer with his shoes (not sandals!). so he picked out the two balls of fixation and I've already started his new socks. next - when we were in Canada over mother's day, JB's sister asked me to give her my waterfall socks. I told her no, and JB been a bit irritated with me since. he doesn't understand why I will knit socks for just about anyone, but when his sister asks I said no. I gently explained, she didn't ask for socks, but rather for the socks I was currently knitting for myself out of gifted to me yarn. I wasn't saying I wouldn't knit her socks, but that she wasn't getting those socks. once he understood that, we were on the lookout for purple yarn for socks for sue. this was the first yarn purchased to make sue socks and it's Wisdom Yarns Poem Sock. it really reminds me of noro sock as it has that rather rough texture. I'm not sure how the color runs will be. but I actually picked up later a beautiful purple pagewood farms to make her a pair of socks. so, I won't have verdict on this for quite some time.

personal yarn store crawl - part 1

In Western Washington up and down the I-5 corridor, the local yarn store owners get together and host a tour. There are so many yarn shops between Renton and Bellingham that they give you 4 days to get to all of them. It's similar to the Quilt Shop Hops. You may remember, that last year I was able to go. That was due to the fact that JB and I had moved our annual May Vacation up so that we had the chance to visit with the VeeDogKnits clan before Mr. VDK got deployed. Unfortunately, our annual May Vacation falls on the same weekend as the tour. So, I did a little search in Ravelry for some stores where we would be. The first shop we stopped at was Wooly Bully Yarns in Leavenworth. It was lovely, but closed on Thursdays. So, instead we took a walk along the river and have a great time and made sure we came back. The shop was lovely but tiny and she carried a lot of the same things I could get at home, but I did manage to purchase several lovely things. Including the Noro Kureyon pictured at the top and the Berroco in the next photo. The owner helped JB pick the yarns because he wanted a new hat. He likes his hats to completely cover his ears. So the Kureyon will be the background color and the Berroco the main color for the swirls hat (rav link). The remaining lighter color you see in the group shot will be the accent color. I'm excited about this project because JB rarely asks me to knit anything specific for him. When he gets hand knits it's because I saw the yarn and thought of him, not because he did. I played no part in helping with this project other than I said the hat was neat. It also has lots of techniques that I want to learn like colorwork and braids. Look for a finish hat this Fall.

Keep the Good Vibes Coming

JB had shoulder surgery today.

We knew it was coming, we just didn't know it was as bad as it was.

It seems that he tore his bicep tendon and the rotator cuff was shredded. The surgery took longer than anticipated and now we'll find out how well he does at following orders. 6 weeks in a sling except when doing PT. 6 weeks he can't lift anything! Will I make it 6 weeks without killing him?

(For the record, he's been home for less than 3 hours and he's watching QVC and the game show network already.)

Since I Haven't Done Any Sewing

How about a modeled shot of JB wearing the shirt I made him before we went on vacation?

It fits well, he wore it more than once. I washed it and it didn't fall apart (always a bonus). It did wrinkle a bit more than I am happy with, but I'm fairly certain it has some linen content.

All in all - pattern worked great for him straight out of the envelope. Now to do a muslin of the color blocked style with a yoke.

Are You Ready?

He is

(at time of posting, 3 minutes left, Eagles are up by 12 and they just intercepted the ball)

First Project of 2009

Custom dyed sock yarn in Philadelphia Eagles colors. Made for the man who loves the Eagles. They were originally intended to be finished in time for his birthday, but I didn't have the yarn yet. So, they went on vacation. Started on December 27th finished on January 2nd. Toe up construction. Both at the same time. Magic Looping. 32 stitch cast on. Increased to 72 stitches. 32 on the instep needle. 40 on the foot. 2x2 ribbing on the instep. 1x1 ribbing around the arch. Afterthought heel over 40 stitches. Still need to figure a few things out. Like when I do an afterthought heel on 60% of the stitches - I don't know how big it's going to be. Often I end up with a longer foot than I wanted. They could have been a little longer through the leg - there was yarn left over. Also, JB says they aren't really snug at the top. They stay up, but they aren't snug. Yes, I did switch to 1x1 ribbing for the last little bit (6 rows). Maybe I need to do more "cuff" at the top of the socks. Anyway - there you have it. The first finished project of 2009.

Finished Friday

But yet to be tried on. And seriously - how hard is it to find white buttons? JB has started wearing bowling shirts ala Charlie in Two and a Half Men. I have had this dart themed fabric for quite awhile. When Debbie posted this shirt that she made for her son - I immediately purchased the pattern. With leftover Eagles fabric (but not wanted to be seen anywhere in public with JB dressed head to toe in homemade Eagles garb. I decided that Simplicity pattern was perfect to break up the novelty fabric. But then I couldn't find the pattern! I did find McCalls 4399 in the pattern stash (by the way, the Simplicity pattern? I had put it away!) So, I grabbed a similarly styled shirt from his closet and measured everything between the tissue and the shirt he wears. This should fit the same. I tried really hard to match the pattern on the pocket and make it invisible. But I messed up. I placed the pocked piece on the shirt front and traced the fabric onto the pocket. Then I lined up the traced lines and cut out the pocket. But once I had stitched and turned it -- it only matched up in one place. Anyone know what I did wrong? I have been working on gifts all weekend. Hopefully I'll have something to blog about before I go radio silent until the end of the year.

We Interupt this Deck

Last weekend The Princess and I moved furniture. What was the dining room is now the sitting room. The dining room window is now french doors.

Friday night my brother and I met JB at the door store. We picked out doors and hardware and asked them to rush our job through. They nicely agreed. As soon as we got home the boys got busy taking the window out. First the drywall was cut and removed, revealing electricity running under the window.

Holes were drilled in the floor and the electricity was rerouted.

The siding was removed from the outside of the house. The window was loosened. Insulation pulled out. Big messes were made.

The dogs got into the act. They really weren't sure what the big hole in the house was. The the remaining wall was removed. It has taken up residence on the deck.

The boys went to pick up the doors and the frame was installed. Finally the first door went in.

The second door was hung and all the hardware installed (see the construction mess on the deck?). Finally there are the doors. They still need the interior trim installed, but that's been purchased and should be done tomorrow. The brick moulding outside is already in place. Brother heads home tomorrow, but JB has Monday off so hopefully there will be more deck progress soon - it's almost done.

JB Had a Helper

My friend and her little boy stopped by to bring me Boy Scouts Chocolate Popcorn. Little Man there wanted to come in the house and see my "noisy dogs" (Beau & Lucy were trying to break out the windows and get the strangers who were at our house). So, JB took Little Man around the back, onto the deck, and into the house through the kitchen. The noisy dogs didn't even see him come in. However, once Little Man saw construction - he was all over that instead. He walked along the board to get to the deck. He held the tape measure to figure out the length JB needed to cut boards, he helped stain the bottom of the boards, and he even pushed with a spatula to help set the gap while JB screwed the deck board down. He was a very happy Little Man and not so much when his mom said it was time to go. JB got a little bit farther than this when he ran out of lumber. Then he went out and mowed the leaves off the street.

Bonus Day Off

I know that November 11th is more than just a bonus day off - but working in the legal field, our policy is if the Courthouse is closed so is the office. So, it was also a bonus day off. I spent it by going grocery shopping and then hopping on the treadmill. I know - not very exciting. After that - I headed down in to the Studio and plugged in 27 Dresses. I am a sucker for a sappy romantic comedy and this one didn't fail. While watching the movie, I made JB's cotton PJ pants from the Eagles fabric that was finally delivered. I also go the second fleece jacket/shirt made up. This one used the left-over Eagles fleece as accent and black for the body. I added the length back to the body but took 3" out of the sleeves. I still had enough length to hem the sleeves 1", but JB didn't want the body hemmed at all. I put the pockets on the outside and fussy cut an Eagle out of the fabric and stitched it on the center back. This time I inserted a chunky white zipper. It was originally a separating zipper and was way to long for the application, but I shortened it and covered the cut end. JB really seemed to like it. He tried the jacket on when he got home, but he hasn't tried the pants on yet. In fact, when Corey (my trainer) got there last night, I was still sewing. I showed him the jacket and he asked if I could make a Raiders version.