Shirt of Many Purples

Ultra Violet

The first item to be completed out of the Spring Lineup (see the previous post at https://fabman556.wixsite.com/dan-the-fabric-man/single-post/2018/04/26/Spring-Lineup ) is the Ultra Violet interpretation of this inspiration shirt from Spanish ready-to-wear brand desigual.

For this shirt I used assorted cotton prints (tonal prints called "blenders") from Patrick Lose Fabrics, which are typically used as quilting fabric. Ultra Violet is Pantone's color of year for 2018, so I naturally had to explore ways to work it into my closet.

Unusual Color Palette

I gathered the various blender fabrics guided by one of Pantone's suggested color palettes for using Ultra Violet, combining gold, moss green, and deep red with multiple purple tones (above).

Working the Patch

Even though I mentioned last time that I wanted to take a break from making quilt tops, the patchwork part of the left shirt front required me to engineer my fabric, using strip quilting techniques. First I cut the fabric into 2.5" strips across the width of the fabric using a rotary cutter and ruler. These strips were arranged in a sequence on the cutting table in a way that maximized contrast, both of color and of pattern, then stitched together using a 1/4" seam allowance.

I used a serger (or overlock machine) to finish the edges of the seams to eliminate raveling as the shirt is worn and laundered. Then the seam allowances were pressed to one side.

After pressing, I folded the stripped "fabric" in half crosswise and cut more 2.5" strips in a perpendicular direction. These strips were then arranged on the cutting table with every other strip facing the opposite direction, then shifted somewhat to enhance the contrast of the patch squares that were created (fairly successful), and also to avoid two of the same squares appearing next to each other (not quite as successful, but I cut around those parts). The strips were stitched together as before, with careful consideration to matching the "intersections" or seam lines where the squares meet, to make even squares (pretty successful). After more seam finishing on the serger and additional pressing, the patchwork fabric area was completed. This portion was used on both the left front and the back of the shirt.

After cutting the patchwork area to the size I wanted for the shirt, about 5" wide, I then cut strips of the fabrics in various widths from 2" to 5" wide and arranged them on the cutting table, again contrasting the colors and patterns (and now also the strip widths). Using the pattern pieces as a guide, I assembled enough of the strips for each section of the shirt fronts and back. Following the same procedure as before, I stitched the strips together, serged the raw edges and pressed the seam allowances to one side.

Sewing The Shirt

Now that the fabrics for the fronts and back were created, I cut out the respective pattern pieces accordingly. Each sleeve is a different purple fabric, with a matching cuff and sleeve placket binding. The collar/collar band are of another purple fabric.

Assembling the shirt was quick compared to the time spent engineering the fabric. I sort of mirrored the front on the back of the shirt, since I didn't have an image of the inspiration shirt back (I suspect it was one piece of fabric).

With all the many colors of purple in the fabric, I was able to use up quite a bit of old partial thread spools in various shades of purple.

Note: Shortly after we moved to Rock Hill, South Carolina in 2016, the local Hancock Fabrics store closed along with that entire chain. The closest JOANN store is 16 miles away in South Charlotte, NC, and with no independent fabric shop in town, the only other options for essentials like thread, buttons, zippers, etc. are Hobby Lobby and Walmart, where the selection is not very large. I have really been using up on-hand thread, buttons and zippers, and making do where I can. I've expanded my view of what constitutes a "match," as I am not wearing my clothing wrong-side-out. Usually. ;)

This was a fun shirt to sew. It's very bright and very purple. I think it's a reasonable interpretation of the inspiration shirt, too. That said, I broke my sequence rule on this project: always sew the main item last so that the other items actually get sewn up.

Example: If I sew suit pants first, I may never get around to sewing the jacket, because I can wear the pants separately right away and I have a short attention span...ready to move on to the next project. I always sew the jacket first.

So, the next item in the Spring Lineup will be the Ultra Violet brushed twill pants using a new Burda pattern that resembles the inspiration image, above. to complete my purple experience. And if I don't sew them now, I may never do it. THEN what would I wear with this shirt?

Until next time, keep those sewing machines humming, and let a little Ultra Violet into your sewing life.

DTFM

danthefabricman@yahoo.com

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