This is a special make for me. I used this beautiful cotton shirting fabric and made my son a shirt. First a little background on why I had to make this shirt. My son, who was four years old at the time loves a button-down shirt. He has for the past two years now. I find this rare for such a young child. Normally, I find regular polo-style shirts for him. On Sunday’s when we visit my mother, he will always say “mom, I want to wear my handsome shirt.” His handsome shirt is one of the many button-down shirts that I have bought him. No t-shirt for him. I found it only fitting to make him a special handsome shirt.
When the fabric arrived, I wondered if I had made a mistake. The color of the shirt is amazing, It is a black, very high-quality cotton fabric with silver stripes. However, it is very masculine in my opinion, and I wondered if a more juvenile print would have been more appropriate. Would this be more fitting for a shirt for my husband instead? Also, I must admit my husband did seem a bit jealous when I told him my plans for the fabric. Nevertheless, I went ahead with my gut instinct and continued to make the shirt for my son. I washed the fabric and the color is still very beautiful, with no fading at all.
McCall’s 6222
As I laid the fabric out on my cutting table, I noticed it has quite a bit of stretch to it. This is a plus for anyone wanting a shirt with some give. I searched for a while trying to find a nice button-down shirt pattern for a toddler. It is difficult for me to find many nice patterns for boys, so the search was a bit tedious. I ended up using McCall’s 6222. This pattern features a young boy’s long sleeve shirt, vest as well as cargo pants. Although I used this pattern, after thinking harder, I wished I had made a short sleeve shirt instead.
The pattern, McCall’s 6222 is a basic shirt pattern with a collar, cuffs, and a front pocket. In addition to a small amount of interfacing for the cuff and collar, I used six one half inch buttons. Four buttons for the shirt front, and two for the cuffs. I love the details on the sleeves. There are nice pleats next to the placket which gives the shirt a more tailored finish.
Despite having a few pattern pieces, the shirt is very easy to sew. The instructions are clearly written and the pictures guide you along perfectly if needed. It took me roughly two hours from start to finish with a few interruptions. I made only a few adjustments. The first adjustment was to shorten the sleeve length by two inches. In addition, I and omitted the side vents. The side vent omission was actually by mistake. I was just sewing along and did not realize until after serging the side seams that the side vent was to be in place. Not wanting to unpick serged edges, I left the sides completely closed.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, the shirt is very handsome on my son. The fabric is very attractive. It is also very comfortable to wear with the amount of stretch that is in the fabric. He loves the shirt, and I am happy to have made something to add to his handsome shirt collection. I see more shirts for him in the future.
