I made Mark the La Maison Victor Arnold shirt for Christmas using fabric that he chose (which I had earmarked for me!). Although the shirt is called “Arnold”, it is tagged “Super Trooper” on the cover of the magazine, so yep, I had Abba playing in my head the whole time I was making both these shirts.
Even though he chose the fabric and we had some discussions about the shirt, he completely forgot about it and so had a surprise on Christmas Day, which was a bonus.
The Arnold shirt has a lot of really nice features. It has a separate buttonhole placket finishing in a nice point, a ribbon button band, and two piece sleeves, which I really like. Because I was a bit short of fabric, I used contrasting fabric for the insides and lining. There are supposed to be shoulder epaulettes but Mark didn’t want them – no complaints from me!
I had a bit of trouble with the fabric, it was off grain which made pattern matching a nightmare. I decided that I couldn’t live with the mismatched yoke and back, so I stitched a piece of coordinating binding across the seam to trick the eye. It basically works well.
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Whilst I was making the shirt I became rather concerned about the size of the neck. It seemed quite wide. I looked to see if anyone else had made the shirt, but couldn’t find anything. I had no choice but to continue. When Mark put the shirt on, it was obvious that the neck is very big, but I think this is part of the design, the shirt is meant to be worn open with something underneath.
In a triumph of hope over optimism I made him another. I had a fiddle to see if I could raise the neckline, but the knock-on effect was too much for me – I had to alter the collar and collar stand, as well as the neckline. I did all this work and it doesn’t seem to have made any difference at all!
This shirt is made from some lovely classic chambray from Crossgrain Fabrics. I used part of a thrifted gingham curtain made by IKEA as the facings. This photos shows the size of that neck.
There are a couple of other annoyances with this pattern. The line style for the size I was using changes between sheets making tracing off the pattern a bit confusing. The pattern also has a full facing. I’ve never seen this in a man’s shirt before and am not really sure of the reasoning. I am not a fan of facings and pondered whether to eliminate it in the second shirt, but decided not to.
Apart from that, this is a nice shirt to make, and Mark is really happy with it.
I also made myself the Morris shirt from the same edition of La Maison Victor. I used a piece of Ikat dyed cotton lawn from Potter & Co that has been in my stash for far too long. I completely missed the pattern matching mark which was rather obvious where the yokes join the body, so I used the distraction technique and sewed a piece of binding across the seam.
I can’t begin to tell you how much I love this shirt. It is light and cool and much nicer to wear than a t-shirt. It is designed as a men’s pattern, but works really well for me. 
I found the perfect vintage buttons in my stash. I needed four and I had four, which is most unusual. They are clear glass with a blue centre.
I have a couple more of the Morris shirts planned, as well as another couple of shirts for Mark, but I don’t think I’ll be making the Arnold shirt again, which is a bit sad as I really enjoyed making it.
you have your reserves about the Arnold shirt…. I can feel what you say, but yet I like what I see. Do you know what I hate to see? A shirt with a plaquet and collar on stand, worn open and then that collapsing of the front……I really see that this Arnold is not standard fashion but it is more pleasing to my eye at least
Thank you as always Marieke, you have helped me come to terms with this neckline a bit!
They both looking really professional, well done!
Thank you so much, I appreciate that comment so much!
Such lovely shirts! Really nice detailing on both versions.
yes, I love nice details and am instantly attracted to style lines. Thank you Caroline.
Love that Morris shirt! The “distraction” trim works really well and the print is lovely.
Thank you, I really like it too and have another one planned!
Two great shirts for Mark and can you use one of his current ones with the better neckline to see if you can get it to work better.
I really like your Morris top and the fabric looks to cool.
I think I will do a mashup as I like everything else about this shirt. Thank you Sharon!
Both shirts are perfect and love your work details, Sue. The buttons are too cute 😍
Aren’t the buttons gorgeous? Thank you Hana.
Both shirrs turned out really nice and your distraction technique is very clever, I may have to copy you next time I fail at matching patterns 🙂
haha, I can’t see you failing at pattern matching!
It’s a shame the collars turned out big, but both shirts look great, so long as he’s not planning on wearing a tie with them I think you’re safe! The contrasts and detailing are lovely, and your shirt is a winner too!
I love your ‘distraction-binding’! 🤣😅👍🙏😃
Thank you Andrew, distraction binding was essential! Yes, I think these shirts are designed to be worn open, but I can imagine he will want to button them when it’s cooler or if he doesn’t want to wear something underneath them. He will never wear a tie with them, so I can relax on that score!
The distraction binding, yet another brilliant solution à la Sue Stoney! How resourceful you are my friend. I now understand your love for the Morris shirt you mentioned in our e-mails. This Morris looks fantastic on you. Can’t wait to see it made in other sunny fabrics.
Haha! I cannot wait to get going on my sunshiney Morris!
Great shirt with as always beautiful detailing.
Hallo, ik ben ook bezig met het Arnold hemd, ik zie dus ook dat de kraag heel breed is, ik ben er nog nog niet aan begonnen. Wel reeds uitgetekend, ik weet niet goed of ik nu de kraag moet innemen of niet. Het is ook een hemd dat hij wil open dragen, en met een trui er onder. Dus ik ga er ook vanuit dat ik van de kraag moet afblijven. Ik zag wel dat er fouten in het patroon zaten. De zijlengte die niet klopte zag ik. Ben al blij dat ik het afgewerkte resultaat zie. Heel mooi!