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Wednesday, July 19, 2017

HSM 2017: #4 Circles, Squares, and Rectangles - Pirate Shirt


The challenge: #4 Circles, Squares, and Rectangles

Material: 100% cotton

Pattern: Simplicity 4923 View E

Year: Nonspecific 18th century, but it’s intended for a costume based on the early 18th century c. 1720s-1740s

Notions: thread

How historically accurate is it?: Maybe 50/50, but the accurate half is pretty decent.  I’ve heard good things about the pattern from people who know more about it, and the material is a natural fiber.  The thread was poly though, and it was all machine sewn except for handstitching the inside edges of the collar and cuff.

Hours to complete: I didn’t really keep track (bad habit), but I worked on it intermittently for a few days.

First worn: Pirate Invasion 2017

Total cost: The fabric was a sheet that I think was $2-3, and I got the pattern on sale a few years ago.

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First step towards piracy is shirts.

It’s pretty basic, and having a pattern to follow made it even easier.  I did do a few alterations though.  It was cut in size small, and the torso front and back were shortened about 3” and the sleeves shortened by 1.25”.  I initially did collar interfacing as instructed, but it made the collar kind of wonky (it felt too stiff and puffy, and didn’t lay right).  So I ripped the interfacing out and skipped it on both the collar and cuffs.  I didn’t think about the length of the neckline slit before I marked and cut it, so it ended up way too deep for me and I whipstitched the bottom 4” closed.  I also did some extra topstitching just because.

Despite being so simple, or maybe because of that, this is actually one of my favorite things I've sewn in a long time, and it's refreshing to finish something that I don't see a million flaws in.

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