Old Cape Cod

Can you find my mistake?

This Patti Page  song was in my mind while I was making this shirt.  Fabric invokes memory and as soon as I saw this patchwork on Gorgeous Fabrics I knew I had to have it; when I was kid in California I had a madras shirt that I loved so much I wore it until it fell apart and it was a hand-me-down to begin with.  It was sooooo soft and light….and when this patchwork arrived from Gorgeous Fabrics I was instantly transported back to Oceanside CA.   Madras is also a beloved summer fabric in New England going way back.    I remember not so long ago summer clothes were regional; everything now seems so generically tropical. I like palm trees as much as the next person but I also love the New England summer fashions that were sold and made here by local stores before Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren co-opted the look and made it boringly mainstream.   

As much as I love it this fabric it posed some interesting challenges:

Prewash – I threw a Color Catcher® into the pre-wash and sureee enough it came out really dark in both this colorway and the green one, so I recommend using one.

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Design and pattern changes - simple is better for any garment made with this fabric.  Ann made an A-line skirt in the pink patchwork colorway, and if you want to make a shirt in one of these patchworks the design I used is about as complicated you can go in terms of the pattern.  Initially I was going to use McCall’s 6035 View D as is, but this patchwork is busy and the intersecting thicknesses would be challenging with princess seams.  Also details like the collar and stand don’t lend themselves to being made from patchwork due the seaming in the fabric, so I made a design change and used a nice white  cotton shirting (also from Gorgeous Fabrics) from my stash.  If you don’t like the idea of a contrast collar a collarless style such as Kwik Sew 3200 is an alternative.  I thought the vertical seams from Butterick 4609 were a better idea, but I wanted the shirred sleeve from 6035.  A problem emerged in that the armscye between 6035 and 4609 is quite different.  6035 has the high armhole that is fashionable right now and I wanted that; 4609 is an older pattern and has a lowered armhole.  So I traced off both patterns, cut off the seam allowances and laid one over the other matching up at center front.  Then I traced the vertical darts from Butterrick onto McCall’s, made flat pattern adjustments for my figure based on my measurements and whipped up a muslin.  After a few more adjustments to the paper pattern I made the shirt.

Layout – you will need to eyeball the grain because these patchworks have no grain, no selvage and you can’t tear a grain line either due to the patchwork seaming.  Keep your style simple and use a single layer layout.

Construction - There is a fusible interfacing under the placket and it works with this application because it’s just a narrow strip.  Ann used silk organza and didn’t recommend a fusible for a skirt  facing and I agree, with this fabric you can’t really used a fusible for anything other than a shirt placket. 

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Buttons & Buttonholes – The creamy shell buttons are vintage and came from my stash.  One thing I have learned from Pam is to never, ever rely on the pattern instructions for buttonhole placement!  They always tell you to have them too far from the finished edge!   Buttonhole placement is a sure clue to a garment being home sewn – honestly just go onto the sewing forums and take a look:  99% of sewers place them too far from the edge or they are horizontal when they should be vertical.   I did double buttons to just tone down the madras a bit.  The buttonholes are done with a Singer Buttonholer I have set up permanently.  I’m not crazy about the ties made from the collar fabric, I’ll replace them with 3/8 twill tape because I want them drapier.  I may add a center line of hand topstitching in blue floss (like this M&J Trim ribbon) to transition the sleeve detail to the fashion fabric.

One last thing:  the muslin had more ease than the finished shirt, and again I think this is because the patchwork seams and lack of a true grain affects the wearing ease.  So for a shirt give yourself a tad more ease (1/4 to 3/8 inch) than you normally would to account for what is lost due to the nature of this patchwork fabric.

This week we had a day with temps in the high 80′s; I wore this  shirt to work and loved it!  It was a great transition from air conditioning to the warm outdoors.  Not sure what I’ll do with the green colorway; I’m thinking a casual hoodie jacket might be fun.

Next up is a pair of  Hot Patterns Marrakesh Pants in a white linen/cotton  to wear with this shirt.