I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there's been a whole lot of selfish sewing going on here lately.  I've made project after project for me, me, and me and I have to admit, I've kind of loved it.  I sewed only one or two things for myself while I was pregnant so it's definitely been nice indulging in a little selfish sewing.  That said, it was about time for me to make a little something for some of the other people in my life - namely my awesome hubby.  He was long overdue for a handmade gift since I've made him just one thing in all the time that I've been sewing (this Green Pepper hat which is ridiculous but he actually uses a lot in the winter).  And he can thank the internet for finally giving me the kick in the butt that I needed to get sewing for him, because when I saw Kelli's version of McCalls 6044 I knew that that was the shirt that I was going to make for him.

And once I'd picked the pattern, like the nerdy couple that we are, we sat down together and picked out some buffalo plaid shirting from fashionfabricsclub.com.  As for the actual pattern, the only alteration that I made was to take 2.5 inches off of the length because while my husband is large in spirit, he is rather small in size (and he was very clear that he didn't want the shirt to be too long).

Fortunately it all worked out and the fit came out near perfect (if I do say so myself).  Of course, I told him after he tried it on "you know I'm going to make you take pictures in it, right?" to which he replied, "oh yeah, I already have some ideas."  So without further ado, I present to you Ben's photo shoot documenting the many ways that he can wear his new shirt (and yes, I almost peed in my pants laughing while taking these pictures).

"Farmer Ben"

"Skater Ben"

 "BBQ Ben"

Alright, peace out.

Three Out Of Three

It seems that lately I can find time to sew but getting a picture taken of what I've made has somehow turned into the world's biggest hassle.  If I put the item on in the morning, there's no one around to be my super-star photographer and by the evening it's either a wrinkled mess or covered in spit-up.  Granted, I could just put it on in the evening to take a picture, but that is by far my laziest time of the day.

And as for writing an actual blog post...well, let's just say that I've started this one approximately five times and have never gotten around to finishing it (I just hope that I actually finish this one).

Which is a very long-winded way of saying, that while I can manage to squeeze in sewing here and there, the other two things somehow never seem to get done so it's a small miracle that I've gotten all three things done today.

This top is made from McCalls 5388 which I bought ages ago and am only now getting around to making.  Somehow I must have inherently known to wait to sew this until after I had baby #2 because this style is very forgiving to the post-partum body (thank you loose and flowy tops!).  Based on some reviews that I found online that mentioned that the yoke was rather large, I shortened the yoke by one inch which seems to have worked well for the fit.  The top also came out quite long (although I probably could have figured that one out just by looking at the picture on the cover of the pattern...duh!) so I ended up taking up about 5 inches in the hem.  And in an attempt to be more thoughtful about the things that I make (rather than just rushing through them like I have a bad habit of doing) I used french seams throughout the top (well, except for the armholes...let's not get crazy, people), made my own bias tape to finish the back of the neckline, and decided to gather and finish the sleeves with bias tape rather than use encased elastic.

I have to say that I'm really happy with the little changes that I've made and am hoping that this will be the beginning of me not blindly (and often stupidly) following all pattern instructions.  Here's to me actually using that soft, squishy thing inside my very hard head...I knew it was going to be good for something.

Pattern: McCalls 5388
Size: 10
Fabric: Maybe Sixpence from Anna Maria Horner's Innocent Crush line