The Joshua Henry Shirt

Have I ever mentioned that Josh's middle name is Henry?  Probably not.  Moving on...

I was feeling really inept for not understanding all of the steps in the Henry Shirt pattern, but I did feel better once I read the posts written by other somewhat frustrated folks (Stacey at Boy, Oh, Boy, Oh Boy! for one).  This is the first advanced pattern from 'Sewing for Boys' that we've done for Stacey's sew along, so some tears and seam ripping are to be expected, I suppose.

To be honest, I didn't have many problems with the actual sewing of the shirt, I was just really anxious that I was doing something wrong the whole time.  I'd read the instructions, look at some online photos, then second guess myself and put it aside until I felt brave enough to attempt what I THOUGHT was the proper step.  To be fair, the written instructions for the book are very good, but I really, really wish there were more diagrams.  I think I've said this before, but it's worth repeating.  Some of the more complex steps, I think, would really be simpler for folks to complete if there were either more drawings or actual photos of some of these things.  There are diagrams, of course, but just not enough, in my humble opinion.

Ok, now for the actual shirt.  This was an exercise in stash busting for me, so I didn't actually go to the store to buy anything for this project.  I just happened to have some Tammis Keefe owl fabric, green polka dots and charcoal gray Kona cotton that I think look swell together.  I also just happened to have sew in snaps.  So there you are.  I hope ya'll like it - he's a handsome guy.  In the future, I'll make deeper pockets and worry less.

And just for fun, here's a picture of Josh wearing the shirt while holding an origami Starship Enterprise.