Today’s project was prompted by the Menswear Challenge via the Monthly Stitch Collective. I settled on McCalls 6044, a classic button up shirt for my boyfriend and today’s model, Arit.

This was a nicely timed challenge because I had been meaning to make something for Arit ever since the jeans fiasco fell flat. I had promised to make him a pair of jeans as a Christmas present, a challenge that proved far more difficult than I had imagined and ultimately never came to be. I’ve never made a button up shirt before so I first made a muslin. I cut a size large for Arit but the muslin was much too large so I decided to make a size medium for the actual garment. The project calls for a lot of hand stitching. I did hand stitch the cuff closures and the neckline, but I cheated on the front bands and used my trusty tool Heat n’ bond to finish the inside of the bands.

I figured I could get away with it since the directions call for edgestitching all of the bands, collar, and cuffs, which permanently secures all of the pieces anyhow.

I’m not 100% on what fabric this is. Maybe a chambray or a lightweight linen/cotton blend that I picked up over the weekend at Hancock Fabrics. Once I had my pattern pieces cut, I finished the whole project in about 6 hours. It wasn’t difficult, but with all of the edgestitching and hand sewing it is a bit slow and tedious. On the plus side, I’m no longer scared of buttonholes. In the end, I’m quite pleased with how the shirt came together and I’m thankful to my handsome boyfriend for being such a good model 🙂

I also took some shots of Arit in his natural environment, the garage.

He spends all of his time mostly in the garage where he’s building a vintage motorcycle.