B's Birthday Shirt is Finished!

When I met B, he had what I called the Asian Fixation. As I mentioned in my last post, all over his house hung Asian inspired art, he had beautiful kimonos on display, his dishes and silverware had an Asian flair, and he often ate with chopsticks. I think he likes the clean simplicity of Asian style. For his birthday, I have been working on a shirt that uses an Asian print fabric I found thrifting for $1.50. I finally completed it today- just in time! It is hard to get anything done with a 5 month old, so I am especially pleased that I managed to pace myself and have this shirt done for his gift. He knew I was making it (I wanted to fit it to him) and likes it very much. Being the wonderful husband that he is, he agreed to pose for some photos so I could upload my work to the blog and the various sewing sites I obsess over. Oh, and the pattern was Simplicity 7917 from 1977. Without further ado:

I did not tell him to roll up his pants like that...he felt inspired!

I tried to get the man and woman each on a yoke not thinking about the fact that the collar would cover them.
Oh well. You sew and you learn. 

I pushed the collar over so you could see this rad Asian dude

The cuffs are nice and fitted, the pleats came out well, and I love pearl snaps.
What do I hate? Continuous sleeve plackets. So. Much.
What else do I love? My husband. He is the best husband a girl like me could ever have. Ever. Really. 

Isn't this fabric great? If I had more of it I could have fit it up against the yoke better.
 I like that the peeps are featured on the back so prominently though. That was my goal. 

B said he just wanted the bottom serged like another similar shirt he has.
 I can hem it for him later if he changes his mind. 

So there is my first shot at Simplicity 7917. I think it came out really well! It is unique and interesting, and also sharp, if I do say so myself. Now I have to make a Little Dress mad scramble to the finish, and then after that, I am going to sew a bunch of stuff for yours truly. I bought an adjustable dress form (not to mention a gorgeous vintage wrap blouse pattern), and I am expecting it in the mail any day. I am revved up! Also, I will be participating in Gertie's Coat Sew Along, although I will be sewing a different coat. I know as a novice I should just follow along, but I am not crazy about the Lady Grey Coat. Don't get me wrong: it's very cute. It's just not me, and if I'm going to invest time and money in a sewing project, I'm going to make something I love. This is more my style:

It is for sale on eBay, but it is a $20 pattern, and I already have plenty to sew without buying new patterns, fabric, or notions. In fact, I picked up a gorgeous coat dress pattern the other day:

 I'm wondering if I can modify it to serve as a coat pattern instead. We'll see (I just followed a link from the Vintage Pattern Wiki, and it appears someone else has already had this idea!). For fabric, I'm thinking I would love to have a kelly green wool coat. I need to start shopping. 

This is the kind of stuff I am turning over in my head when I am not sleeping at night! With the western birthday gift done, I am hoping for a good night's rest tonight. I'll get back to sewing in a day or two. Until then, sayonara!