Project 25: Sparkly Dress Shirt

When we were in New York for our anniversary vacation in April, I visited Mood Fabrics as I always do when in the city. I happened on a bolt of beautiful white shirting that had metallic silver pinstripes. There was something so completely over-the-top and yet subtle about it that I immediately put it into my cutting pile.

Working with fabric that has perfect, parallel stripes means that you have to be extra careful about cutting out pieces. This was where the genius of Paula Pay-La-Renta's pattern method paid off. After I have a pattern ready on paper, I lay contractor's transparent plastic sheeting over it and trace the outlines with a sharpie. The plastic pieces are what I use when cutting. The great advantage is that I can see the fabric through the pattern piece.

In all honesty I can say that I have no "lessons learned" from this shirt. It came out exactly right and I will just keep on making them with the same pattern as long as my sizes support it. I'm going to look into learning a more sophisticated way to finish the laps on the sleeves where the opening for the cuffs is, but that's really about it.

I did as much sewing with my serger as I could this time. I thought about making real flat-felled seams on the shoulders, but really, who is going to know but me? I just machine-basted, serged and top-stitched. Same with the side and arm seams.

In the photos you can see the silver stripes. They don't all catch the light at the same time, so it never gets too garish. Just a few sparkles to help a guy get through his day.