Yukon...beat a classic shirt!

Couldn't resist the play on words for that title, sorry! Here we have something for the men, a classic button up shirt! The Yukon, the newest release from Peek-a-boo Patterns! It comes in sizes XS to 3XL and follows on perfectly from where the popular boys Classic Oxford Shirt leaves off size wise.  It has long and short sleeve options and, depending on fabric and interfacing choices, can be made to be a casual or smart shirt. I tested the small for my husband based on his chest and neck measurements of 36" and 14.25"  and although he was reluctant to pose for photos, he really likes the shirts.

When choosing fabrics for these shirts, it was of no surprise to me that my Husband wanted stripes, and of course not just any stripes but ones that had an obvious pattern and therefore needed 'fussy' cutting of the pattern pieces to ensure the right stripes in the right places. This made it take probably twice as long to cut everything than if a solid or random pattern had been chosen but it was worth all the extra work to do so when looking at the finished shirts for sure.

This is a PDF pattern and requires printing of 23 pages for the long and 21 for the short sleeved version.  It doesn't have layers and ideally needs printing in colour as the lines don't have any other differentiations.  Each pattern piece has a taping/layout guide printed on one of the pieces and each piece is numbered for easy reference.  9 pattern pieces are needed for the long sleeved option with a pocket, 7 for the short sleeved with pocket.  Additional notions needed are 8 or 14 buttons and I used around half a metre of interfacing as well.  There are recommendations for interfacing included but I was unable to source those specified in the UK so I used a Vilene medium fusible woven interfacing in black (G700).  

The first version was this black and blue striped one, the only mod from the pattern is I lengthened the arms 1".  The red and blue striped on, I added 2" to both the sleeves and the body length. I also have not added the pocket to either, however I may revisit it and add them on in the future.  There are 2 more complicated parts of sewing these shirts and they're probably what bumps this pattern up to more of an intermediate, the sleeve placket & cuff on the long sleeve and the collar/collar stand but both are perfectly achievable if you follow the instructions and photos included within.  Also, if you weren't confident sewing buttonholes and buttons on with your machine before you start this project, you soon will be when you've finished and a whole new world of patterns will be opened up for you!

For both the shirts, I used a 60" wide, high cotton content polycotton, it has a nice soft feel to it but also resists some creases which is ideal for this purpose.  I used about 1.75 metres although would be able to use less if I wasn't pattern matching. 

Depending on the fabrics chosen, the shirts created can be casual or smart, they are also perfectly capable of holding a tie and being used under a waistcoat or suit for really formal situations!

I will definitely be making more of these as it's great to finally have shirts that properly fit my husband due to his height, our boys have also asked for some to match so I can see those in the future too!  When making next time, the only changes I would make, would be to try using a facing to hem the bottom as due to the curved hemline, getting a truly smooth finish is a little tricky. 

The pattern has released today and has 15% off until midnight tonight 18th Feb - sale price is $8.50 (approx £6)  The boys pattern at full price is £7.95 (approx £5.50)

Pattern: Yukon Button-up (Mens) Classic Oxford (Boys)
Fabric: From Barry Read Fabrics, Norwich Market, Stall 154

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