After having made 15 fit garments for my dress shirt, I felt good enough to make the 16th a “real” one with the few minor adjustments I felt I had left to get it to the stage I wanted. The real one meant it had to be lined, and that I would give the collar and cuffs a first try. The lining was required because the dress shirt style is worn untucked like a tunic, and I do not want the bad side of some fabrics to be exposed since it would be rather obvious. Think of pajama flannel that is drastically faded, or even white, on the opposite side of intense colours. I line those areas with the right side of the fabric, and the rest of the garment with incredibly smooth shirting. Yes, multi-piece lining!

As it turned out, the product wasn’t bad. However, it wasn’t quite where I wanted it. The cuffs, the way I do them, were too big, and the neck line had a little excess where it joined to the collar. It was incredibly comfortable, though!

My first dress shirt

It was also not my style, with just one type of fabric throughout, but I had razzle dazzle fabric to compensate so I didn’t have to complicate the first dress shirt with yokes, appliques and other more challenging features. Fit was tough enough!

But because I wasn’t completely satisfied with it, and could not fix it to the extent I desired it, I cannibalized it. I used some of its fabric for another dress shirt I’m working on now. This, and possibly one photo with me wearing it at the Atlantic Sewing Guild meeting in June that I have not seen, will be the only record of this shirt ever existing. I wanted to show the ladies what was coming for fall, with that last meeting being the start of our summer break.

I am a little sad to have had to cannibalize my first dress for another dress shirt, yes. I do like the shirt. However, I got this fabric in New York in the closing of Jem Fabrics so there’s next to no chance for me to find it again, living in Canada. Also, I think once you see the dress shirt I cannibalized this for, which I’ll blog about later this week, I think you’ll understand why.

Have you ever cannibalized your garments for newer garments?

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