sew + tell: todd’s all day shirts

It’s not very often that we feature adult men on the blog, so I thought we’d invite Todd to join us. He doesn’t sew (I don’t know why not!), but he gets sewn for. And that counts too, right?

Todd's Liesl + Co All-Day Shirt in windowpane check

Liesl + Co. All Day Shirt

Name: Liesl (because I’m the one who sewed them)
Where can we find you on the internet? Right here, of course. And also here and here and here.

Project Details

Pattern used: Liesl + Co All Day Men’s Shirt
Fabric used: Cotton shirting fabric: oxford and windowpane yarn-dye, both purchased locally

Did the fabric work well? The fabric was great! The weights were quite different from each other; the oxford is thick and substantial (great for cool weather) while the windowpane is extremely light and smooth and will be particularly nice for summer but also works well for layering in the winter.

How did the sewing go? I had so much fun with these! I sewed them at the same time, assembly-line style, which made it really efficient since I could use white thread for both shirts. Just for the fun of it, I cut the windowpane collar, pocket, front placket, and sleeve cuffs and plackets on bias, to take advantage of the pattern. (At first I cut the yoke on bias as well, but it was starting to feel like too much, so I used the bias yoke as the yoke facing.)

Liesl + Co. All Day Shirt, back

What was the best part? These were a Christmas gift for Todd, and he was quite surprised to receive them. I didn’t have much time to sew the shirts so I worked on them whenever I had a few minutes, a few seams every night. I sewed them right in front of Todd and didn’t make any effort to hide it from him, but he swears he had no idea I was making them. I guess that’s what happens when you’ve always got a project or two underway, right? Your family stops asking questions!



 

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22 Comments

  1. Lauren

    These look great! So funny that he didn’t even realize you were working on some shirts for him.

  2. Susan

    Love the shirts, it is inspiring to see these men’s shirts. I have now sewn 2 of the ladies shirts from your pattern for me and I love the fit now that I have it sorted out; I needed to do a full biceps adjustment. It is wonderful to wear a shirt that is not tight in the arms! Now this posting of yours today makes me think that making shirts for my husband is realistic. He will need a bit of tweaking too…

    1. Isn’t it nice when you can make clothes that fit properly? I hope you’ll give the men’s shirt a try!

  3. Excellent shirts! This would totally work with my son and husband, but my daughter is way up in my sewing business all the time, lol. Future sewist, perhaps!

    1. Curiosity is always a good thing in my book. But you’ll have to be sneaky to sew for her!

  4. liz n.

    I always thought Todd sewed!

    1. He’s said he wants to learn, but I think there’s less incentive when I can sew for him…

  5. Rocky_Bayou

    I usually cut the yoke on the bias. I have to do the dowager’s hump (round back) modification. If the yoke is on the bias, you don’t even notice the half inch added in the center of the yoke and the back piece. I cut the collar on the straight grain. This mod makes the collar fit behind my neck where it should be.

    There’s no need for Todd to sew when he lives with an expert!

    1. That’s a great solution, and I really like a bias-cut yoke. In retrospect, I think the bias yoke would have been find on this shirt as well. At the time it was starting to feel like I had too many things on bias, but if I was going to sew another one I’d absolutely do it. And you’re right–he has no incentive to sew right now!

  6. Taryn

    I’ve got this pattern and want to make it for my husband. This one seems to have a ‘short’ yoke that is quite high on the back – is that fairly normal? A previous shirt I made for my man, which was copied off a RTW one, had a longer yoke. It went further down the back. I’d like to duplicate this as I think it suits my husband – only by an inch or so. I presume this would be easy enough to do (I’ve done pattern hacking before)? Love these shirts!

    1. The yoke height is entirely a question of style. You can certainly alter it as you like, but I find that the higher yoke allows better movement. It would be an easy change, for sure.

  7. Ani

    I was looking at this pattern to possibly sew a shirt for my husband, and is tall and thin. If I wanted to do this as more of a slim cut shirt, I would make him a small, but I would need to lengthen the sleeves (no problem, easy) but also make the neck bigger. Would that be super difficult? It sounds like it would be. He would need the neck of a medium. Or would it be easier to make the medium size and somehow slim out the torso some?

    1. It’s quite easy to change the neck size–just trace the neck size you need onto the pattern size you’re using. For a larger neck you’re just trimming away 1/4″ or so, and for a smaller neck you’re adding a bit to the neck edge. Does that make sense?

  8. Emily

    Todd should have been a model! I love seeing him on here.
    My husband taught me how to use my machine. He sewed fancy old car upholstery for money during college, and before he found a civil engineering job. Usually I just repair his shirts and old, loved items, but I think it’s time to make him a shirt!

    1. That’s wonderful! I have several male friends who sew, but I’ve never met anyone who learned to sew from their husband!

  9. Sharron

    I want to make this for my hubs! Question…. he prefers the 100% cotton wrinkle-free shirts that he buys (often fm Joseph A. Banks). Where do I find such fabric? How is it labeled? To be able to make him my own “designer” shirts would be so cool! Thanks!

    1. I would imagine 100% cotton wrinkle free is a special finish the manufacturer puts on the fabric. You could ask around, but that might be a little tricky to find. On the other hand, poly-cotton blends are easy to find and offer the same low-wrinkle freedom if you don’t mind the poly.

      1. Sharron

        You are RIGHT! I did some research and those shirts are treated post-sewing with a formaldehyde solution! Blech! New plan…. I’ll see if I can find some blends that are still nice and breathable.

      2. Finishes like that typically wear/wash off, too, so that’s even better incentive to look for all-natural…

  10. Ani

    If/when I sew this, I want to try Imperial Broadcloth from Spechler-Vogel for the wrinkle-freeness of it.

    1. Sharron

      Thanks for the tip, Ani! I’ll check that out!

  11. Carolyn Kummer

    I like the look of this pattern! If I purchase it and then run into frustrating difficulties with the collar stand buttonhole (ask me how I know that happens), are there hints on how to make this task easier in the instructions or can I ask for advice if and when? It would be nice for once to not have to unpick the buttonhole at least twice!

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