Boy's Shirt Pattern No.7 a Design by E+M Patterns

My friend Allison at E+M Patterns has just released a new pattern...for boys! (at a special introdcutory price of only 5.00$, YAY! On Etsy and Craftsy , no coupon code needed!) When it comes to E+M Patterns I can't leave well enough alone. The classic clean lines are so inspiring! I came up with an easy tutorial to add a button tab for the sleeves.

I'm being a little of a tease, because I've also made the boy's shirt a little girly, but I'm not showing that part of it today. You'll be able to catch that one in a couple of weeks.

To get started you'll need:

1. a copy of Boy's Shirt Pattern No.7 by E+M Patterns 
2. tailor's chalk
3. scraps of light interfacing
4. a couple of extra buttons

I started out by printing a taping my pattern pieces together. 

Determine where the tab and button should be stitched. For a size 4, I measured 5.25 inches from the top. For the size 10, I would go with about 6.5 to 7 inches from the cap of the sleeve depending on where you want the sleeve to hit the arm once rolled up.  Don't froget to mark that point on your sleeves on the wrong side of the fabric with tailor's chalk.

Now you should have your fabric all cut out and ready to go, but wait! If you want to add tabs you also need to cut out two pieces 3 inches wide by about 6 to 7 inches long. I used 6 inches for a size 4. 

Add a light interfacing to both pieces. I like having interfacing when making button holes because they just come out so much better. Without interfacing or at least 3 layers of fabric to statblize everything, button holes tend to look sloppy.

Fold tabs in two lengthwise and stitch one short side and then the whole length of the tab. Clip corners and trim seam allowances. Turn your tab right side out and top stitch all the way around as shown in the last image. Just a tip for getting those corners all square, I use knitting needles, others use chopsticks. just make sure to be gentil so that you don't poke through your fabric and rip it. Mark off your button holes and stitch them onto the tabs.

Now these tabs need to go on the shirt before assembly, it just makes life easier.

On wrong side of fabric right where you marked your sleeves (aprox 4-7 inches from the cap) stitich your tab in place. This is actually the inside of the shirt sleeve.

Now you can assemble your shirt as indicated in the pattern tutorial. 

Can't wait to show the whole girly version of this shirt! 

Until next time, xx.