SHADES OF COOL: MCCALLS 6044

McCalls 6044 is a fairly traditional, relaxed fit shirt, with a curved hem, a two-part collar and collar stand, and optional chest pockets. There are also two different sleeve variations and one option has a front and back yoke, giving it a slightly more Western styling. I would consider this a good pattern for an intermediate sewist — this was my first time making a shirt for a man, but I found it fairly straightforward. I would recommend taking your time with the collar and buttonholes, as they can be sometimes quite daunting! This pattern also involves slipstitching the inner collar stand piece in place and the two front collar bands, so keep that in mind if hand-sewing isn’t your favourite activity… 😉

I made View A (short sleeves and one chest pocket) in a Medium from this fun Cotton + Steel quilting cotton; shade of sky blue is so lovely and I think the sneaker print is very fitting for the recipient of my selfless sewing! The cotton was super easy to sew and I really love the finished look – you can see more photos and details on my blog.

I didn’t make any modifications to this pattern, bar adding a few centimeters here and there to ensure a good fit. The back piece is cut on the fold and there isn’t much shaping in the front pattern pieces either, so that may be something to modify in the future to make the final cut more slim-fit. I would highly recommend this pattern and am thrilled with my first foray into menswear!