Easy (non) Linen Shirt

I think that the best part about making this shirt was giving it to my boy and having him say "Thank you for sewing it for me, mommy".  Sadly, it's only going to get more and more difficult to sew clothes that are acceptable to my children.  My son is only in kindergarten, but already seems sensitive to the styles of other children.  Happily, this shirt was deemed acceptable.

I made this shirt for the 'Sewing for Boys' sew along, and I'm so glad I did.  This was a pattern that I was already thinking about making for my boy when it was announced for the sew along.  I only made a couple adjustments - I added patch pockets to the front, and slightly modified the collar.  The pockets were planned - my son can never have too many pockets and there are so many cars and legos and other tiny things that need to be carried.  The collar adjustment was unplanned - the pattern piece that I originally cut didn't seem to fit quite right, so I re-cut the collar, adding some fabric to the center.  This adjustment isn't noticeable on the finished garment, but the extra fabric made the collar assembly a heck of a lot easier.

The brown stripe fabric is from Verna Mosquera's October Skies line for Free Spirit, and the green accent print is an Abacus print from Birch fabrics.  I had initially planned to make this shirt in a cheery check fabric, but I think the brown was a good choice - maybe I'll make a checked version next!

I just love looking at these pictures of Josh in his new shirt - it does a mama good to see such a happy boy.