Dearly Gathered
Several months ago two dear friends approached me about making a button up shirt and a long-tailed bow for their wedding. Feeling honoured to be the crafty friend they thought of, I happily agreed to such a thing. Entirely ignoring the fact that I had never made a button up shirt before, because it didn't seem important at the time. My friends had a dream, and with the amount of love and support they send my way all the time I couldn't say no.
I had a shirt that I based the pattern off of, since it fit my friend and looked absolutely lovely on her. With a few minor alterations to the original decision, I set to work cutting out the fabric and hoped to any power that might be listening that I could make this work.
I went crazy with pins to make sure everything was symmetrical and matched to other pieces. I had to ensure that I was telling the truth when I told my friends that my blood, sweat and tears went into this- and with how often I stabbed myself while pinning I wasn't too far off base.
Piece by piece I began making something that actually looked like a shirt.
Believe it or not, up until this moment I hadn't made a single mistake. The years of fearing sewing clothes started to fade as I found a rhythm.
I had a couple of odd hiccups to navigate, but really it all was easy to manage.
Word of advice- do the stylistic narrowing of the sleeve by the cuff BEFORE you sew the seam all the way down. It's a tight fit and at a certain point of sewing down that tube I fully got to experience the phenomena of tunnel vision.
Like I said before though, minor setback. I sewed on the cuff by flipping the raw edge in and matching it up with end of the sleeve, then sewed across with a 1/4" seam.
Now here is where my heart stopped. I was working on the button holes (as one does with button up) and on the meticulously crafted sleeve I tore straight through the fabric with my seam ripper.
I walked down stairs, away from the scene of the crime. I drank a glass of water, did some weaving, plotted all of the cheaty ways to sew over it and ignore it, and then I thought of my friends' wedding. I thought about how they deserved perfection in every detail, and even if they never knew I messed up, I would know.
I took a deep breath, channeled all of that determination and strength my mother so lovingly imparted upon me, and I went back upstairs to pick that whole section of the sleeve out and start again.
I had to unpick the cuff and three thick lines of stitches, but not too long after the whole section was replaced, and it was done right.
Did I want to cry when I tore through my hard work? Yes of course, but a moment of sacrifice is worth it to do something right. Even if its awful and makes you want to howl so loudly that your neighbours lock their doors on the full moon.
After the main pieces of the shirt were assembled, the details fell into place quickly. I only had the one seam ripper incident, and all of my buttons were easily reinforced (wrap the thread around all of the threads that went through the holes when you're finished, between the button and the shirt- I don't know if it really works but oh well).
One of the fun challenges of this shirt was to add a corset backing to it. I used the selvage (so it wouldn't fray) from the flannel to create the loops and then laced it with ribbon.
The other fun touch was lace sewn into the cuffs of the sleeves to give it a romantic and fun look when the sleeves were rolled back.
I couldn't have been more happy about how it turned out.
The bow, while seeming to be a smaller detail, also proved to be quite satisfying to finish. I don't think I appreciated its value until it was tried on with the dress. I suddenly saw this vision these two remarkable people had about their ceremony for starting their lives together. I got so busy with the challenge of making the shirt that I didn't see the magic until these items were given to their rightful owners.
My heart glows to be a small part of this enchanting moment.
Stay sweet, stay crafty, and stay tuned.