Insulted at the fabric store

This morning I was at Jo-Ann Fabrics. The woman cutting my fabric recognized my shirt’s print. I bought the fabric for the shirt at Wal-Mart, but apparently Jo-Ann also sells that print. She asked, “Did someone make that shirt for you?” I am a man, so clearly I could not be the one who made the shirt.

I cannot boycott Jo-Ann Fabrics, but I will not return to that particular location.

One more shirt and my first portfolio page

The third garment I made for my apparel construction class this semester was a shirt. My instructor felt that the shirt was the most difficult project of the semester. I had a little experience making shirts and none making pants, so I had more difficulty with the pants. I think the hardest part of making a shirt isn’t the actual sewing, it is understanding what to do. I already knew how to make a shirt, so as my classmates struggled to figure out how to make plackets, collars, cuffs, and all the other odd bits I was able to concentrate on getting everything made well.

I think I did a very good job with this shirt. It is far from perfect, but I see consistent improvement with every shirt I make. I had a lot of trouble with sleeve plackets and cuffs on previous shirts, but now those two seem easy. My collar stands are getting better, but they still need a lot of work.

Unlike the previous two projects for my class, this one did not require a fit muslin. We did a tissue fit instead.The torso fit well, and my pattern had neck sizes marked in inches, so those two areas presented no problems. I thought I would have to lengthen the sleeves, but after pinning my pattern to me my instructor said the sleeve length was good. I should have lengthened them. The sleeves on my first shirt were too short and I did not have enough fabric to make new ones. I was ahead of schedule, so instead of making giant cuffs I made a new shirt.

I need an unbleached muslin shirt for my fashion industry class. My plan was to make that shirt after I finished the broadcloth one for apparel construction, but after I gave up on the broadcloth shirt I decided to use the same shirt for both classes. I used a heavyweight muslin that looks quite nice for apparel.

I am not sure where the idea came from, but at some point I found myself thinking that as much as I liked my natural color shirt I would like it even more tie-dyed. Once an idea gets lodged in my head I cannot shake it. The local stores did not have a great selection of dyes, but I think the colors I chose work well together. I am almost done with an undyed shirt for fashion industry.


Every year the apparel design instructors at my school meet with industry representatives to evaluate the program. The most recent feedback they received was that Stout graduates are skilled in the technical areas of apparel design but have difficulty with presentation, communication, and technical writing. The department will try to work on those areas. Most classes will now require students to make some form of presentation. Instead of a final exam for apparel construction, we had to make portfolio pages and present them to the class.

I never made a portfolio page before, I do not know how to use the software usually used for portfolio pages, and there was only one brief lesson in class about how to make a portfolio. My pages for this class did not have to be up to professional standards; the purpose of this assignment was to introduce us to portfolios and presentations. I included photos of the shirt, samples of fabric and notions, and flat drawings of the shirt and some of its more difficult parts. I think my instructor was pleased with my portfolio. Tomorrow I get it back and find out what I did wrong.

Another shirt and some thoughts about prints

As promised I made another shirt this week. It is not great but it is a lot better than my previous one, so I will call it a success. The next one will be even better. I used the same pattern for both shirts, but I made a couple small changes for shirt number two. I reduced the size of the pockets and the width of the front plackets. For my next shirt I will reduce the size of those pieces a bit more.

This shirt is 100% cotton which is much better than the polyester I used before. What little experience I gained from the first shirt helped a lot with this one. At this rate of improvement I should have a nice shirt finished by the end of my fourth or fifth attempt. The biggest improvement with this shirt was the seams. The seams on my first shirt were unfinished; on the second shirt I made flat felled seams for the shoulders, sleeves, and sides. My stitching could have been straighter, but I am still quite pleased with my seams.

There are three problems with this shirt, two of which I should be able to overcome with the next one. The buttonholes are a little too big, I screwed up the collar, and the shirt is the wrong size. All three problems provided learning experiences so I am not too upset. I now have a better understanding of how to correctly size button holes. The collar was the most difficult part of the shirt. It needed a few attempts to get it attached and I never got it on well, but by the time I was done I finally understood how this type of collar works. The next one will be easy. As for the size of the shirt, unless I want to get another pattern there is not much I can do. I do not yet feel comfortable enough to try resizing an existing pattern. I wear large shirts, so I thought I should use the same size pattern. I should have used medium. I do not know if all patterns are sized too big or if it was just this one. I will know more about sizes after I try a different pattern.

Before beginning work on the shirt I went to Walmart to buy the fabric. I picked a nice print with flowers, but before I got to the cutting counter I found a bolt of the black and white striped print. The flower print was a lot nicer, but the striped one was only $1.00 per yard. Economy trumped aesthetics. I will hold off using nicer (and more expensive) prints until I can make a shirt I want to wear. As I was loading the fabric into a washing machine I discovered a copyright message in the selvage.

I understand taking out a copyright on an intricate design with lots of shapes and colors, one with flowers, or one with copyrighted characters. Perhaps even an original plaid or an intricate striped design with multiple colors and stripe widths deserves a copyright. But simple black and white stripes? Is this pattern truly worthy of copyright protection? Surely someone used black and white stripes before MBT. What obligations do I have if I use a copyrighted pattern? Do I need to give MBT credit for my shirt? Can they sue me if my shirt is not up to their high standards? Maybe I should just use solid colors. Does anyone hold the copyright for red?

And now for the obligatory class update: On Tuesday I made but did not attach the collar for my tailored shirt. Unlike the collars on the shirts I made at home, this one has a neck band. Now I know how to make two types of shirt collars. I also finished the front placket and attached the two front pieces to the back. This shirt has a yoke while the two I made at home do not. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to put the pieces together, but after I got them pinned the sewing was easy. I will either alter the pattern I am using at home to include a yoke or find a new pattern that already has one. I have two class sessions left in which I must attach the collar, make and attach the sleeves, close the sides, and hem the bottom. It is a lot to do, but I am on schedule and I have confidence in my ability to turn in a well made shirt on time. Then all I will need to worry about is my final exam.