Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Negroni Collection in Liberty

Check it out - The Negroni Collection in Liberty.  


This is the sort of post that would make the Selfish Seamstress shudder. A 6-shirt collection sewn for..........someone else! 

By the end of last year, my husband's work shirts were looking extremely shabby - faded, stained, holey, stretched out of shape and a tad smelly. It was well and truly time for him to clean up his act, or at least his shirt collection. Just a few days before the start of the new school year we sorted through his shirts and threw out all the yucky ones. Few remained. It was a sad state of affairs really. Not even enough shirts to get him through a working week. A state of emergency was declared!

I had already sewn him two of the six shirts - one for his birthday in November and one over the Christmas break. We jumped onto Shaukat, UK and ordered another four pieces of Liberty. It was quite interesting sitting down with Paul and selecting the fabric. Liberty prints are generally quite small and busy, making it difficult to imagine the final garment. You're forever wondering if the final garment will look groovy or grandma-y. To assist with our selection, we checked out the men's shirts on the Liberty London online shop. This was really helpful, especially for Paul, to see the RTW garment made up in the fabric. We ended up choosing identical or similar fabrics. 

Just out of interest, the RTW Liberty shirts retail for $183. Each of these cost approximately $35. Win! Also, if you're ever planning to sew this style shirt, in this size, out of Liberty, you need 1.60m of fabric. I wished I'd know that sooner as I over-ordered the first time around. That said, there is enough fabric leftover to sew a few shell tops for me - bonus!

As mentioned in an earlier post (here) I made a number of changes at the toile stage. The main two changes were:
1. the addition of a collar stand
2. using an alternative sleeve pattern 

One change I made this time around was to sew all the buttons on with my machine. I've never used my machine to sew on buttons before. It was so quick and easy. I think my days of hand-sewing buttons are now over. 

So here we go - The Negroni Collection in Liberty. 

#1 - My personal favourite

#2

 #3

 #4

 #5 - The birthday shirt

#6 - Paul's favourite




There you have it. I'm super happy with how they've all turned out. I'm also super happy that they're finished. Paul's been getting a ton of positive comments at work which is also very cool. The guidance officer identified the fabric as Liberty and told Paul not to be alarmed if he finds her touching his shirts every time he's nearby.

21 comments:

  1. These are really cool! I like the pocket flap detail. I thought the first one was my favourite, but then I saw the 3rd and 4th ones and now I can't decide. Glad you worked out how to sew buttons on by machine...let us know if they stay on as well as hand sewn buttons.

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  2. Those are really gorgeous! I think that #1 is my favourite too. Thanks for the tip on the fabric quantity - and on checking out the online store to see what they are like made up. I am now feeling very tempted to sew up Liberty Negroni shirts for my husband too! Especially if there are some Liberty "scraps" left over...

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  3. Love these, very tempted to buy the pattern and some Liberty for the husband.

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  4. Oh wow - they're gorgeous. Paul is one lucky man! I won't be showing this post to Wade because he'd put in an order that I just can't fill at the moment :)

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  5. I love them! This morning I ordered some liberty to make the same shirt for Michael for his birthday in April. Glad to hear it works and wears so perfectly!

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  6. Six shirts - six! Lucky husband - it does look like he appreciates both the effort and the fabric that went into them. I am so impressed. That is un-selfish sewing in the extreme :) They're all beautiful but I think I agree with Paul's favourite.

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  7. 6! Liberty makes such beautiful fabric for tropical wear, and so stylish. Your husband is a very, very lucky man. What awesome shirts. I am not telling my husband,that's for sure!

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  8. Wow these are amazing! Men's shirts in Liberty, that's radical. They all turned out beautifully. Making mens's shirty is very rewarding. I've made 27 for my husband and 2 sons now, but none in Liberty!

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  9. Wow.. Lucky Paul! What a great job you have done! My favourite is the last one too but really it's hard to pick a favourite isn't it. I'm not surprised if his shirts get caressed!

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  10. Oh man, these are all amazing! I love the first one. Not only did you make six good looking shirts, but I bet they are fantastic to wear. Liberty is such lovely fabric. You are a good wife! Is he taking you on a romantic vacation as thanks?!

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  11. I'm so impressed, both by your skills and dedication as well as your husband's awesome taste in fabric!

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  12. These sew awesome! He looks fab, and you are a fantastic wife to sew 6 on the trot!

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  13. What an awesome undertaking! Each shirt looks fantastic, and the fact that you have left-over fabric for yourself...Bonus!

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  14. Wow! I'm so impressed. I would love to make husband a shirt. It's fantastic making clothes for people who truly appreciate it too. I'm loving the fabric but I think I will have trouble getting my husband to wear it unfortunately. I'll show him this post tonight and try to change his mind!

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    Replies
    1. Btw what's the shipping costs like from Shaukat? I've never bought from there.

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    2. ..and I've just linked to this post from my blog. Hope you don't mind! Let me know if you do.

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  15. My husband's wardrobe is in need of a lift, so I showed him this post. His comment was "floral shirts are not a Sydney thing!". I wish he was willing to start a trend. Love them!

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  16. So awesome your hubby doesn't balk at the thought of wearing liberty! The shirts are seriously awesome!

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  17. WOW! What a fantastic wardrobe! I am totally envious of your husband's style (acknowledging of course that it's all down to you!)

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