The button-up shirt. It’s a fundamental article in menswear history and will continue to be for years on end. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I took the opportunity to learn the craft of constructing a dress shirt through the Menswear program at Fashion Institute of Technology. The course focused on sewing techniques and the steps of piecing together a quality, hand-made classic dress shirt. Halfway through the semester, we made a dickey to test out our sewing chops. As for the class final, we took everything that we learned throughout the semester and constructed a full fledged button-up. Here are some shots of the steps leading up to the completed item – an actual wearable shirt (whoa).
Now that the class is over my next step’s to sew a few more shirts on my own and experimenting with different fabrics.
The fabric I used was red oxford with a really light sheen purchased from Purl SoHo.
Oxford fabric unravels fairly quickly when it’s cut and is moved around. Working fast with minimal handling is key to prevent the edges from fraying away. Trust me, I learned this the hard way.
Essential production materials.
Patterns for the collar, cuffs and sleeve plackets.
Laying and cutting along the proper grain of the fabric is crucial. Otherwise, the shape of the shirt will become stretched and uneven over time.
In process of sewing together a cuff.
Check point. Examining how my felling of the shoulders and sides looked. Not bad for a newbie…
Fin.
