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March – April 2007
Another small step toward the rather lofty goal of a complete man’s ensemble…now we have a shirt. This is Past Pattern‘s “Two Mid-19th Century Shirts,” view A, the traditional cut. Aaron’s also wearing the Laughing Moon “California Pants,” a silk stock and ascot from the LM Shirt pattern, and some brand new silk suspenders from the Salvation Army.
The shirt pattern includes a partial lining which also finishes the area where the gathered sleeves attach to the body. That was omitted and I opted to just hand-overcast the seams. I asked Past Patterns about the sleeve length and was informed that the cuffs should come to the knuckles for a formal shirt of this era — they protect the coat’s cuffs. It’s got 3/8″ shell buttons down the front and one on each cuff. (And naturally, I attached the cuff buttons to the wrong side of the sleeves). Being a basic white shirt, I wanted it to be low maintenance and wear well, so it’s made in cotton broadcloth. Pretty crisp fabric, and doesn’t wrinkle as easily as linen.
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Those large wrinkles which come down from the neckline and diagonally across the chest, are the result of the rectangular construction. The shirt has great dropped shoulders. It’s really quite a full garment and adds a bit of bulk when tucked into those form-fitting Victorian pants.
This was the project where I finally figured out how to sew in a square gusset using french seams. It took a combination of the pattern’s instructions, the instructions in The Tudor Tailor, and a few more stabs at it. Whew. After two years, and an assortment of completed shirts, this was a major sewing breakthrough for me!
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