Diving in, head first

When I spotted the Colette Negroni shirts, created by the contestants of the Super Online Sewing Match, I immediately knew I wanted to make one for my husband. Since Sew Mama Sew also hosted a Super Online Sewing Community Match I told myself now was a good time to enter the online sewing world. No more procrastination, my entry for the contest should be finished by September 10th.

Three weeks to buy fabric, download the pattern, start a blog and open a Flickr account. Oh, and stitch up a men's shirt with convertible collar, flat felled seams, sleeve plackets and a lined back yoke. Right.

First things first. Fabrics. I wanted my husband to be involved in the selection process, but he did not seem overjoyed by the prospect of going through multiple pages of online fabric stores. Neither was I. Over to another cunning plan. It took some persuasion from my side but promising to buy him a nice meal in the nearby town was enough to get him to accompany me to the weekly fabric market. Food bribing. Always works.

It did not take long for him to find the fabrics of his choice. Considering the retro feel of the Negroni shirt I was very pleased he chose a fine cotton with a vintage print in two matching colours. He also picked the buttons in bright yellow. Love that combination! The guy certainly deserved his meal.