Hawaiian Style Shirt Tips

Joy Beeson

>recommendations to sew a men's "Hawaiian style shirt"

First thing to look for is a collar set on by way of a separate band.  Bandless collars are always being pushed in pattern catalogs as "EASY--ONE FEWER PIECE", and the all-in-one collar no doubt does save time in factories, but us amateurs *need* that extra seam. Besides, if the fabric is perma-press, the band is more likely to go together without puckers than the all-in-one collar, and if it isn't perma-press, you'll cuss vigorously every time you try to iron a bandless collar, and still get lousy results.

A legitimate place to save cutting pieces: if the fabric is opaque, don't bother to cut a separate facing and a separate interfacing -- just cut the fronts wider and turn them under twice. (Self-fabric is *sure* to be compatible!) If you want a turned-to-the-outside band for the buttonholes, and if the fabric isn't reversible, you'll have to apply a separate band, but a buttonhole band is too formal for a Hawaiian shirt anyway. You can fold a pattern on the proposed folding lines to allow for the curve of the neck, but it *usually* isn't a problem. Finish the front edges, buttons and buttonholes and all (except for the top button on the collar band, if you are using one) *before* you sew the shirt together. It's much easier to work on an isolated piece than to wrestle the whole shirt the way the instructions say, and some operations are easier if you can button up the front and treat it as a single piece.

Casual shirts with separating zippers are increasing in popularity. To modify a button pattern, fold on the center-front line instead of the fold line. Remove a matching piece from the collar band -- or leave it to extend if you like the look, or want a button at the top. Extending bands are easier to get smooth, because you don't have everything piled up in one place.

You don't need a special pattern to leave off the top button and buttonhole.When I made shirts for DH, he never buttoned his top button, so I never bothered to install one.Nor do you need to worry too much about finding a pattern with a hang-out tail; there's no easier alteration than cutting the bottom of a pattern off along a straight line.

Do not under any circumstances make a non-perma-press shirt that doesn't open all the way down the front. A shirt that can't be opened flat takes twice as long to iron, and is much more likely to sport ironed-in wrinkles.