Marty shirt

Well, it finally looks like we might be moving house in the next few weeks, which is the reason my blog has been rather neglected of late! My recently finished shirt is too good not to share though, so I have taken a break from all the decluttering and boring moving admin to dust off my camera and laptop and tell you all about it.

You may already know that I absolutely love making shirts and shirt dresses, so I was very excited to see that there was a shirt pattern included in the latest collection by I Am Patterns! Calling Marty a shirt pattern is thoroughly underselling it, because it is not just a shirt pattern – it’s a ‘choose your own adventure’ pattern with a whopping 150 possible variations! Start with either a dress, tunic or top as a base, then pick your sleeve style (or make it sleeveless), collar and placket to create your perfect garment.

Patsy and I often nickname certain patterns and garments that we make, and after seeing the page that features illustrations of all of the versions of Marty that you can sew, this became affectionately known as ‘the head-fuck shirt’. The pattern certainly does appear confusing, but once you have found the version you want to sew and highlighted the pattern pieces you need and steps to follow, it really is very straightforward!

I chose to make view B2, which is the plain top version with short sleeves, a full-length placket and double collar. I LOVE sewing collars, so why just have one when you can have two?! I’m not a big fan of sleeveless shirts and as my fabric is very lightweight I thought short sleeves and a summery vibe made more sense than one of the longer sleeve options. I made my usual I Am Patterns top size of 38 and as always, it fits me beautifully.

My pretty fabric was bought on a trip to Hop, Stitch & Jumper in Tenterden when Patsy came to Kent for the weekend in May and she got some too in the pink colour-way! It’s a cotton jacquard and is very lightweight – almost like a voile – with embroidered spots. I made some 11mm self-covered buttons as I thought they mirrored the spots nicely and I am really pleased with the finished look.

The whole sewing process was an absolute joy and I thoroughly enjoyed the project from start to finish. The instructions are great, the pattern is very well-drafted, construction was a breeze and my fabric was an absolute DREAM to work with. I loved learning the new skill of creating a double collar and will now be tempted to add this feature to every shirt I make!

If you like to get a lot of mileage out of the sewing patterns you buy, I cannot recommend I Am Marty highly enough – you could use the pattern again and again and end up with a completely different garment every time – a very economical way to sew indeed! And if you like a ‘choose your own adventure’ style pattern, make sure you check out I Am Rainbow – this sweatshirt/hoodie pattern has over 70 different variations and would be another wardrobe workhorse in your sewing pattern arsenal.

I’m winding down my sewing now ready to pack everything up for the move. I finished my Starlets Christmas quilt this week and I am about to finish my Merchant and Mills Omilie dress, which will be the last garment I make in the sewing dungeon. I have been incredibly lucky to have such a great space in this house dedicated to my sewing, but I am SUPER excited about the studio we will be building at the new place – more on that soon!