Western Shirt

The past few years my family has drawn names for holiday gifts. This year I drew my dad's name and immediately knew that I would be making him a shirt. I wondered for a while if my mom rigged the drawing right before I selected just so I would have a reason to make him another shirt. The first one that I made for him a year or so ago was too big but otherwise very well received; hopefully I got the fit right this time around.

Clearly, this vintage pattern is just right for my dad. I can picture him standing in front of a wagon wheel, looking wistfully into the distance as his bandana flutters in the wind. Okay maybe not, but he does enjoy a good western shirt. His mother used to make him all sorts of nice western shirts, and now I am able to carry on the tradition.


I bought the vintage fabric on Etsy and it's just right for a lightweight, short sleeved shirt. I only used up half of the yardage, so I may have to make a matching father-daughter shirt for myself!


The distinctively western yoke was sewn on the shirt using my new edgestitch foot. I always wondered how other people were able to get such straight stitching close to the edge of the fabric, and this must be the answer. Buying that pack of specialty feet for my sewing machine really is paying off in the quality of my work.


The edgestitch foot also came in handy when sewing on the collar and collar stand, which requires a lot of pins and slow sewing. This is by far the best collar stand I have ever sewn.



The seams are flat-felled as usual, which requires patience, a bit of precision, and lots of steaming/ironing to enclose the raw edge of the fabric. It makes a really nice looking and sturdy seam and is totally worth the effort.


Other details include a pen holder in the pocket and black pearly snaps down the front.


Enjoy, dad!