AboutSharon Vogel Expertise I can answer general sewing questions as well as tailoring, heirloom, menswear, children's wear, craft sewing, quilting and just about any fabric or notion. I can also help with some sewing machine repair and maintenance.
Experience I started sewing at the age of 3...thanks to my mom and grandmother, and I am now in my fifties. Home economics classes in junior high and high school helped me to finesse my skills.
Education/Credentials Palmer and Plesch tailoring class
Basically, self-taught...give me the instructions and I will figure it out and then make it better!
Awards and Honors A few blue ribbons at fairs along the way
For a long time now I've tried finding these vintage men's shirts. I believe the era is 1910-1920 or so. The Internet has yielded pictures, but not sewing patterns for vintage clothing...do you know where I might find patterns for these shirts?
The picture is attached...
The guy on the left and the guy on the right are both wearing the dress shirts in which I'm interested: shirts with those wide, funny collars that nearly cover the necktie knots. Are you aware of a place that deals in antique patterns?
Sorry I can't describe the garments in greater detail. That would be pretty difficult =)
ANSWER: Dear Tom,
I found a website with some great patterns for you. www.patternsoftime.com Of course they have many more women's patterns but there are a few men's patterns.
I believe the collars on those shirts are detachable because in that time period, men tended to rewear a shirt before washing it but changed the collar and cuffs because they got dirtier. I even have a few collars in an old trunk that belonged to my grandpa who was born in the late 1800's.
It was fun looking at all the patterns. Thanks for your question.
Sharon
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Hi again Sharon!
Thanks for the rapid and informative response. The sites you suggested are great! I have more searching to do. There are LOTS of patterns and things on those sites ;)
A follow-up question if you don't mind. I've just learned (from you) about the detachable collars. These shirts now seem unlikely candidates for wearing...anywhere, haha =) But maybe other options exist...
Two parts to the question:
1) Is it possible to sew a permanent collar onto a tailored shirt, to give the identical look without the removable collar deal? Know what I mean? Same collar look, but permanent material collar. I'm sure you get what I mean ;)
2) If I decided to have such a shirt made, which material should I select for it? I know nothing about this. Let's say I prefer dress shirts with crisp collars/cuffs, with the rest of the shirt being soft but not too soft, not downy...does that help at all..?
I appreciate and look forward to your expert ideas and feedback =)
Best,
Tom
Answer Hi, Tom,
Aren't all those patterns neato keeno? lol Sorry, being silly. I am such a sewing nut that I love all kinds of patterns, and a website like this is just up my alley. I have two favorite eras..the titanic (early 1900's) era and the 40's. Women's clothes were such statements, but saying that, you wouldn't catch me wearing a hat!
Yes, you could have one of these collars put on a shirt permanently. Like I said, the detachable collars were for looking a bit neater when the shirt wasn't all that fresh...which you or I wouldn't do now. If you will look at the shirt pattern again, you can see that one of the shirts has just a band at the neck instead of a collar. A tailor can interchange any type of collar onto that kind of shirt.
I am assuming you were wanting a solid color shirt so my first choice would be a broadcloth blend of polyester and cotton. The polyester for the shape and cotton for breathability. Collars and cuffs are interfaced which means there is a stiffening fabric inside to keep the crispness. Some shirts with pointed collars also have stays inserted to keep the points very stiff but you don't see that much anymore. I'm sure a tailor could put in stays if you like. There is also oxford cloth that would be a bit heavier but makes a very nice shirt. If you are into spending some extra money, silk blends make into beautiful shirts but are harder to care for. Linen blends grow softer with age but require a lot of starch for crispness and are still going to wrinkle. My all time favorite blend for softness includes rayon, but again, there is the "harder to care for" issue. I have not used any of the new fabrics that have bamboo fiber so I can't really comment on that.
So, if you are going to make a trip to the fabric store, ask the salesperson for shirting and mention broadcloth or oxford cloth. Then, actually touch the fabric yourself. The body of your shirt will feel pretty much like the fabric on the bolt, and the collar and cuffs will look the same but be stiffer with the addition of interfacing. And remember, all fabrics grow softer with wear because the fibers break down over time.
Now, I can end my textile lecture! I could go on and on but you probably don't care that much.
Thanks for your questions and feel free to write back anytime.
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