Buttons and a Label

Live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry.  

~ Jack Kerouac

Well, over the weekend I was able to finish ONE of the two Hawaiian shirts that I'm making for my husband for Christmas.  

One interesting thing about this Kwik Sew pattern is that the buttonholes aren't marked on the pattern - instead, you are told to start at the top button loop (which didn't make it into this shirt - my husband won't miss it) and then work your way down, adding a buttonhole every four inches.  

I checked it against some of the other shirts I've made, and while this didn't line up exactly the same, it seemed reasonable, so I went with it.  

Another interesting bit - this pattern suggests that you align the buttonholes horizontally - my other patterns suggest a vertical alignment.  Do you have a preference?  

So, have I ever shown the way I align the buttons with the buttonholes?  First, I put the shirt on my dressmaker's dummy, to get the 3-D effect of being on a human body.  Then I "button" the shirt with straight pins:  

Next I "unbutton" the shirt, leaving the pins in place, and use scotch tape to attach each button over each pin:  

You can easily stitch through the scotch tape, trim the threads and then remove the tape!  :)

Finally, the finishing touch - my label:  

It looks like it says that this shirt represents a hug from me.  But, loosely translated from Welsh, (and I mean VERY loosely - as in, using some of the least common meanings of the words), it says "blessed cloak."  So, this gift to my husband represents both a hug from me and my wish to wrap him in a cloak of blessings.  :)

Tomorrow I'll show you the comparison between the three patterns I've used to make shirts for him.  

I hope you had a wonderful sewing weekend!  :)