McCall's 7447 in Flannel and Fleece

Aloysius successfully unleashes his inner model

Hi folks! I hope you're enjoying the holiday season. Here at the bespokeability factory, I've had a splendid Christmas. This afternoon, my small (but not short) family came over and what fun we had! First appetizers and presents, followed by a walk, then back to the house for an early dinner. After that, we played Sequence and had Christmas cookies. My heart is fuller than my stomach, and my stomach is FULL!

I didn't do much holiday sewing this year, but I did make a shirt for my son-in-law, Aloysius (not his real name). I've never sewn any clothing for him before, so trying to make something for him in secret had its challenges. For instance, getting accurate measurements was tricky!

I erred on the side of too much length, figuring I can always shorten it. I think it's too long, but he likes it! He's 6'7", so he rarely has clothing that is too long; it's usually too short in the sleeves and body.

For my first venture into son-in-law sewing, I selected McCall's 7447 which is now out of print. Aloysius has lots of dress shirts, so I figured something a bit more casual would suit him.  

I ordered the Robert Kaufman "Mammoth" plaid flannel in red, white, and blue, as well as navy blue sweatshirting and ribbing from Fabric.com. The flannel came out of the dryer with nary a wrinkle!  That's my kind of fabric.

The pattern isn't difficult to sew, but I had a few head-scratching moments, and my good friend the seam ripper spent some quality time with me. It's fun tearing out navy thread on navy fabric. Sure it is!

I made sure the horizontal lines of the fabric matched. I used the sewing machine on all seams, often using the stretch stitch except when sewing the front plackets. I finished the seams on the serger, and either topstitched on my regular machine or used the coverstitch.

Checking that the plaid lines up

I interfaced the placket with Fashion Sewing Supply's ProWoven Shirt-Crisp Fusible Interfacing which may have been a bit too heavy for the shirt.  

I forgot to take a picture of the back, but it's the same sweatshirt fabric as the sleeves and hood.  The cuffs are ribbing. You'll notice that the hood is plenty large!

I'm so glad Aloysius likes the shirt! I'm on the look-out for another fun, casual shirt for him--maybe the Thread Theory Finlayson Sweater.

Two wonderful people with two wonderful doggies!

Next up, I'm finalizing my sewing 2020 plans and I'll post about them soon.  Happy holidays!