The Tale of McMarfy

Once upon a time, not all that long ago, the occupant of SewYLD towers decided to sew a shirt.  Not just any old shirt mind you.... this was a Marfy shirt.  A very fitted Marfy shirt... with a very cute crossover collar and a very interesting sleeve cuff treatment.  For this was the shirt numbered 1075 which had been gifted to her by the renowned seamstress Becki from BeccaBeckStuff-land.

She toiled mightily in a  tangle of tissue and pencils to alter the tissue to fit her shape  and eventually twas done.  And she stood back and admired the work.... So pleased was she with the tissue that she trotted  to the cupboard to choose fabric.  There she made her first error.... for so confident was she in her ability to persuade Marfy to conform to her shape, that she picked from her stash a delightful red linen/viscose mix with self embroidery.  For she said to herself, surely this will fit?  Surely I might create a fabulous red garment without the need  for a tedious muslin, for I am the Marfy slayer.  And  thus she set off, one Sunday morning, cutting and pinning and pressing with great glee.  And so confident was she that she committed error number two.... not engaging in fit as you sew.  And error number three,  doing lots of hand sewing, and the purchasing of special buttons... followed by the sewing of button holes and the attachment of buttons....  all without trying on the garment.  And verily the sewing gods did see this... and the sewing gods were displeased.... and the sewing gods punished the occupant of SewYLD towers by causing the shirt to be too long in the shoulders, too large in the neckline and too deep in the armhole.  And the sewing gods laughed and laughed as she tried on her lovely shirt and found it to be unwearable though the pattern itself was not unsalvagable.... for the sewing gods had seen the care with which she had sewn the collar (both times, for the collar was incorrectly attached on the first occasion and had to be partially removed and reattached) and the fancy cuff closure and took pity on the woman and did not make the garment a total disaster.

(my finger is where the armhole should start). 

And so the occupant of SewYLD Mansions decided to alter the tissue again for the garment was most pleasing below the armhole level and fitted most acceptably in bust, waist and hip. Indeed, it fitted in the way that she had long sought to replicate but had repeatedly failed to achieve.  So, she set to once more in a tangle of tissue, and pencils, measuring carefully and transferring the neckline of McCalls 8649 (long out of print), and the armholes  of Marfy  0187 onto the body of the garment, measuring most carefully to ensure that all would be well.  And this time she heeded the call of the sewing gods, and made a muslin from a perfectly pleasant, but rather masculine, striped shirting, not ideally suited to a garment of so many panels but nevertheless available and of suitable weight and composition.   And the garment was constructed and tried on regularly, and all appeared to be going well, with even the collar, also from McCalls 8649, going well, and having acceptably pointy ends to the collar and acceptably smooth and non-bulky curves to the end of the stand.  And all was well until the sleeves were added to the garment.  At which point the sewing gods stepped in once more and ensured that the sleeve with cute detailing would not fit into the armhole without the creation of many unsightly wrinkles and a feeling of constriction and discomfort for the wearer. In addition, it appeared that the sleeve was in some way twisted by the aforementioned attempt to persuade it to fit the armhole and did hang in an unsightly and unfortunate manner. 

However, this was not the first disaster which the sewing gods had sent to plague  SewYLD, and she was not a person to admit defeat easily. Thus  she searched out the sleeve  that was designed for the armhole she had copied. She cut from this pattern piece a brown and cream striped sleeve which she added to her muslin, and behold, the sleeve appeared suitable and comfortable.  Her altered collar appeared fit for the purpose intended  and appeared likely to work with both jackets and sweaters....and yet, just as she was about to declare the pattern a success... the sewing gods stepped in and brought her attention to the princess seams at the shoulders....... for they did not match and looked most unpleasant being one inch away from one another.  So once more, SewYLD took up her pencil and tissue, her sellotape and her ruler, and set out to change the placement of these seams such that they would meet at the shoulder nicely.   And the sewing gods smiled upon her determination and decreed that her efforts would not be in vain, allowing her to snatch success from the jaws of defeat at the last moment.

And so it was that SewYLD climbed the hill into the workroom, and took up the challenge yet again.  The challenge of searching out a further muslin fabric. However, SewYLD's sewing companion decreed that the garment was now of sufficient quality to warrant the use of proper fabric.... and so it was that SewYLD chose a fabulous white cotton  with a shiny self stripe from the stash, a gift from the very person who had also provided the pattern... And thus it seemed meant to be.  The  sewing gods smiled once more upon SewYLD, who had shown her determination not to be bested by the pattern, and thus the sewing gods felt well disposed toward SewYLD and decreed that no more disasters should befall her as she sought to complete her white shirt.  And so it was that SewYLD completed her shirt, which was, in the end, an amalgum of patterns, two Marfy and one McCalls, being the body of Marfy 1075, the armhole  and sleeve of Marfy 0187, and the neckline, cuff, collar, collar stand and placket from McCalls 8649.

SewYLD was most pleased with her shirt, which fit as she had planned, and indeed in a way she had been striving to achieve for some years, trying and failing with a number of brands of pattern and more muslins than even the sewing gods could track and report upon.  And so it was that SewYLD wore her new shirt today to ascertain comfort, and behold, the comfort level was good and the pattern decreed a success.  And SewYLD and the pattern lived happily ever after (hopefully).  :)

And here is the finished garment.  Only one shot on me as the sun decided to come out today and washed all the detail from all the other photos.  So the detail shots are taken on Twiggy.  Please excuse the wrinkles... Twiggy only got to wear this after I'd worn it all day under a sweater.