It's the same pattern but this time a little more casual! Essentially I really like my friend's denim short so I made my own!
I found this denim in Samuel Taylors in Leeds, its lightweight and perfect for shirts. I was pretty excited to make this shirt without the added challenge of having to pattern match! It shaved sooo much time off of cutting out and sewing up. I think I spent two full days spread across a day and two halves to get the shirt finished.
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This is my 4th time using the McCalls 7575 pattern, but my first time adding the pockets. It took a good few attempts to get those bottom corners folded in properly but I think I got them looking pretty sharp in the end. I struggled a little knowing how to place something flat over something shaped with darts??? All I could do was match the top corners to the dots and try and make sure the side of the pocket was parallel to the shirt opening.
I think it looks fine but was a little bit worried it was going to be one of those things that revealed itself as Not Fine at the final stages! Might be cool to have a play with the pockets on version C- they have flaps! There is no fastening on the pockets for version B but I added come cute little buttons for decoration.
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This shirt also differs from the others as I decided to add top stitching to the seams, creating a kind of faux welt-seam and a traditional denim look. I added double rows of stitching to the pockets, yoke and shoulder seams, side seams, sleeve seams and collar. It was all going well until I realised topstitching the underarm seam was going to be really hard once the rest of the sleeve was sewn up! Luckily though, I found I was able to stitch from the top down and then start again from the bottom and meet the rows of stitching somewhere in the middle.
Phew! I'm glad because I really love the effect of the double rows.
The cuffs were a dream to sew, I absolutely love how professional it looks every time with that pleat above the button. Also topstitching meant I didn't have to hand stitch the inside! Yay!
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I made a tiny alteration to the sleeve pattern, that was just taking some out of the underarm seam, but grading back out to the original arm hole. I noticed on my last shirt the sleeve was maybe a bit baggy there and thought this might look really obvious with a plain fabric. I'm glad I did! The sleeves fit perfectly so must have made the right decision.
I love the way the fabric hangs on me. It's the perfect weight but doesn't get too creased, in fact it was super well-behaved all together really. Top stitching was a little tricky over bulky seams, specifically the under-collar (I would probably take this off and do it again if I wasn't always so eager to get it right first time.
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Before reaching the shop, I couldn't decide if I wanted silver or gold buttons. I knew I wanted something subtle, if I'd have had a stash I would have been tempted with some cute snaps. I settled on these brassy metal ones from the market, with two of the smaller size for the pocket decoration. They are understated and maybe a bit predictable but perfect with the denim and the yellowy topstitch.
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And that's about it really. I'd hate to think I'm wearing out this pattern, but it's just so versatile, it's a tried and tested classic so perfect for making sure lovely fabric isn't going to be wasted. I still have more b&w stripes that I want to make this shirt from, so keep your eyes peeled for another coming soon....
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Location: Magpie Mine, Sheldon
Currently listening to: Missing, Calexico