Benjamins Polo Shirt

www.CreateKidsCouture.com v1.0 07/23/2014

Benjamin's Polo ShirtBy: Create Kids Couture

Difficulty Level: Intermediate

Create Kids Couture 2014 Benjamin's Polo Shirt 1

www.CreateKidsCouture.com v1.0 07/23/2014Materials Needed:

Fabric (see chart below for quantities needed) Scissors or Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat Ruler Pins Sewing Machine and/or Serger Iron Fusible Interfacing Fabric marker or tailor's chalk 3-4 buttons, approx. 1/2"

Fabric Requirements:Size Shirt Short Sleeves Long Sleeves Collar* Placket*

6-12 months 1/2 yard 1/4 yard 1/3 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard12-18 mos. 1/2 yard 1/4 yard 3/8 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard24 mos./2T 1/2 yard 1/4 yard 1/2 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard

3T 1/2 yard 1/4 yard 1/2 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard4T 5/8 yard 1/4 yard 1/2 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard5T 5/8 yard 1/4 yard 1/2 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard6 5/8 yard 1/4 yard 1/2 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard7 2/3 yard 1/4 yard 5/8 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard8 2/3 yard 1/4 yard 5/8 yard 1/8 yard 1/4 yard

*The collar and placket can be woven or knit. The shirt and sleeves must be knit.

Size Approx. Length of Finished Shirt6-12 mos. 13"

12-18 mos. 14"24 mos./2T 15"

3T 16" 4T 17" 5T 18" 6 19"7 20" 8 21"



Tips for Working with Knits: Prewash knit fabrics. Knit fabrics notoriously shrink much more than the woven fabrics we so often use. Ballpoint needles are best. However, universal needles will work in a pinch. Reduce your tension. Most machines' tension is set at a 5 (out of 10 maximum). When sewing with knits

reduce to a 3. Increase your stitch length. Sewing at the standard 2.5 stitch length will cause your knits to stretch. We

need to increase the length to about a 4. Seam finishing is not required!!! Best part about using knits--other than how comfortable they are to

wear? Knit does not unravel so no seam finish is needed. Pick-a-Knit Rule. Determine which direction of the fabric is stretchiest. With the fabric on your cutting

mat, grab the 0" mark and the 4" mark. Pull it until you feel resistance and measure the width the fabric is stretched. The inches it stretches beyond 4" determines the stretch of the fabric.

1"=25% stretch 2"=50% stretch 3"=75% stretch 4"=100% stretch

Cutting the Fabric:Size Placket**

cut 1Length x Width

Fusible Interfacingcut 1

Length x Width

Short Sleeve Bands***cut 2

Length x Width

Long Sleeve Bands***cut 2

Length x Width

6-12 mos. 6.25" x 6" 6.25" x 6" 1.5" x 7.75" 3" x 7"12-18 mos. 6.5" x 6" 6.5" x 6" 1.75" x 8" 3.5" x 7.25"24 mos./2T 6.5" x 6" 6.5" x 6" 1.75" x 8.5" 3.5" x 7.5"

3T 6.75" x 6" 6.75" x 6" 2" x 8.75" 4" x 7.75"4T 7" x 6" 7" x 6" 2"x 9" 4" x 8"5T 7" x 6" 7" x 6" 2" x 9.5" 4" x 8.25"6 7.25" x 6" 7.25" x 6" 2" x 10" 4" x 8.5"7 7.25" x 6" 7.25" x 6" 2" x 10.5" 4" x 8.75"8 7.5" x 6" 7.5" x 6" 2" x 10.75" 4" x 8.75"

*Note that the seam allowance is 3/8" unless otherwise stated.** The placket may be woven or knit fabric. The sleeve bands must be knit.

**The sleeve bands must be cut with the stretch going from side to side (width-wise).


www.CreateKidsCouture.com v1.0 07/23/2014After cutting out all of the pieces you should have a pile similar to this.

Cutting Out Pieces:When printing out the pattern pieces make sure the "Auto Rotate and Center" box is ticked and page-scaling is set to "None". This is VERY important. After cutting out the pattern pieces in the size we are making, tape the

black lines together so they are one on top of another being sure to match up the letters.

1: Put the back shirt pattern piece on top of the fabric next to the fold and pin in place. Cut out the back shirt piece following the pattern piece's curve.

Repeat this step to cut the front shirt piece. This time cut on the front dotted line.

Step 2: Repeat step 1 with the sleeve piece by placing it next to the fold and cutting around the pattern piece. Repeat. You will now have two sleeve pieces cut on the fold.



Step 3: Place the collar piece next to the fold and pin in place. Cut around the pattern piece. Repeat. You will now have two collar pieces. Repeat with the interfacing.

Construction:

Step 1: First we will take our placket piece and apply the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of it by ironing.

Step 2: Now we will use a ruler to measure and mark fold lines on the placket interfacing. First make sure the placket is laying the correct direction (taller than it is wide). Using a ruler, draw a horizontal line 1/2" above the bottom of the piece. Then draw a vertical line 1/2" in from the left side and the right side. When marking it is best to use a fabric marker that can be removed with cool water when you are done, or tailor's chalk.

Now we will draw four more vertical lines, each 1" away from the previous lines we drew. When we have drawn all our lines it will look like the picture to the right.



Step 3: We are now ready to create crisp folds on our placket, using the vertical lines we just drew. One at a time, fold the placket on a vertical line and iron until it is crisp. Each time it will fold inward with interfacing sides together.

After all of the vertical lines have been pressed, we will then fold and iron the bottom horizontal line. We should now have a crease on each of the lines we drew.

Now we need to mark one more vertical line on the placket, going right down the center, as shown to the right.

Then measure up from the bottom and mark a dot on the line that is 1/2" up from the fold (1" from the bottom edge). Our placket is now ready!

Step 4: Take the front shirt piece and lay it on a flat surface with right side up. Find the center of the shirt neckline and mark it with a pin. Then lay the placket on the shirt, interfacing side up, and match the center line of the placket to the center pin of the shirt. Match the top edges and pin the placket to the shirt as shown to the left, making sure that the interfacing is lined up straight with the sides of the shirt. Add pins to the lower placket as well so it won't shift.



Step 5: We are now ready to sew the placket to the shirt by sewing down the two middle folds and across the bottom fold that connects them, as shown to the right. We recommend a stretch stitch* so the placket will be secure when we're done. Sew slowly and be as precise as possible! *Note: If your machine does not have a stretch stitch, use a regular straight stitch for this step and a zizag stitch later when sewing seams.

Step 6: With the placket secure, we are now going to cut down the very center line, from the top edge to the dot we marked.

Then we will cut from the dot to each corner that we sewed, creating a small triangle. Be careful to cut very close to the stitching without cutting any stitches.

Next we need to make two small cuts on the folded flap below the stitching lines. The yellow arrows in the picture show where to cut. Again be sure to cut close to the stitching without cutting any stitches.

Step 7: We are now ready to fold the placket. First fold the bottom horizontal flaps upward, as shown to the left. Iron if necessary.



Then fold the left side of the placket toward the right side as far as it will go, on the fold/line that we sewed. It should now look like the picture to the right. Iron the fold so it is nice and crisp.

Flip the shirt over so the wrong side is facing up. Reach through the opening and pull out the placket piece we just pressed. It will be attached on the right side as we view it here.

Under the bottom edge of the fold, we also need to find the small triangle and square and pull them up through so they lay on top of the fold. This is very important! See the picture to the right.

Step 7: We will now fold each of the side flaps inward and then fold the placket over so it is all stacked in one line, as shown to the left. Pin the placket in place, starting at the bottom, being careful to line up all the folds neatly as you pin. Double check to make sure the small triangle and square from the previous step are sandwiched between the folds!

Optional: If you have a hard time pinning the triangle and square in place, you may use a small amount of fabric glue to secure them before pinning.



Flip the shirt over so it is right side up and we are now going to top stitch along the two inside edges, 1/8" from the edge, as shown in yellow to the right. We recommend using a long stitch.

Flip the shirt over to the wrong side and repeat this step with the other half of the placket by folding it inward, lining it up, and pinning in place. This side of the placket will not have a small triangle and square to enclose in the fold. From the right side of the shirt, top stitch along the long inner edge as we did above. Do not sew the bottom edge yet.

Step 8: On the front of the shirt, take the right side of the placket that is loose and lay it on top of the left side of the placket that is already attached. Line up the bottom edges neatly and pin in place.

Sew along the bottom edge of the placket, close to the fold. Then about 1/4" up from the first line of stitching, sew across the placket again. See the yellow stitch lines in the photo to the left. All layers of the placket are now secure.



Step 9: Place the front shirt piece on top of the back shirt piece, right sides facing, and pin together along the shoulders. Sew the shoulder seams using a stretch stitch or zigzag, as shown in yellow to the right. Set aside.

Step 10: We will now take one of our collar pieces and apply the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of it by ironing.

On the bottom edge of the same piece, fold up 1/4" to the wrong side and iron until it is nice and crisp.

Step 11: Take the second collar piece and pin it to the first collar piece, right sides together, as shown in the picture to the right.

Using a 1/4" seam, sew along the sides and top edges of the collar as indicated in yellow, being sure not to sew the bottom fold that is pressed up. It is very important for our stitching to begin and end 1/4" from the bottom edge.



Clip the corners and turn the collar right side out. Use a creaser tool and an iron to make the points and curves of the collar nice and crisp. Also use the iron to make the 1/4" fold at the bottom a tight crease again.

Step 12: Lay the whole shirt on a flat surface with the back of the shirt facing us. Use a pin to mark the center of the neck edge. We are now going to pin the collar edge that does not have interfacing on it to the neck edge of the shirt, with right sides together. Find the center of the collar edge and match it to the pin on the shirt. Pin in place as shown to the left.

Now pin the rest of the collar edge to the shirt, making sure that the ends of it line up nicely with the front of the shirt. If the collar seems a bit long or short, unpin each side and try again. It is very important for the sides to line up perfectly.

Sew the pieces together along the edge we just pinned, 1/4" from the edge, being sure not to catch the other half of the collar in the stitching.

Step 13: Turn the shirt over so the wrong side is facing us. We can now take the folded edge of the collar at one end and pin it under, enclosing the seam we made in the previous step.



Continue pinning along the remaining collar edge, being sure that the pinned edge encloses the seam and that it is straight. Also make sure that the curved ends of the collar line up nicely with the inside edge of the shirt. Turn the shirt over so the right side is facing us.

With the collar still pinned on the wrong side, we are now going to top stitch the collar on the outside of the shirt, by sewing 1/8" from the edge on all sides of the collar, as shown in yellow. Then remove the pins.

Note: If you are not comfortable sewing across the pins you can't see, you can carefully move them to the right side of the shirt before sewing. It is very important that we top stitch from the right side of the shirt and that the pinned edge stays in place on the wrong side.

Our entire collar should now be top stitched and attached securely.

Step 14: Open up the shirt and lay it on a flat surface with one of the arm curves at the top. Take one of the sleeve pieces and lay it on the shirt with the top curve of the sleeve piece against the curve of the armhole edge, with right sides together as shown to the right. Find the center of the sleeve curve and match it with the shoulder seam. Pin in place.



Pin across the remaining sleeve curve, being sure to keep the edges even.

Sew along the pinned edge of the sleeve, using the standard 3/8" seam. Repeat this step with the second sleeve.

Step 15: We will now lay the shirt on a flat surface, wrong sides out. Pin front to back at the sides and sleeves. Sew along the edges as shown in yellow to the right.

Step 16: We are now ready to mark the placement of our buttonholes on the top placket.* Using a ruler, measure down 1/2" from the stitching and mark a dot. Then measure down 1.5" to mark the second dot, and another 1.5" to mark the third dot. When marking it is best to use a fabric marker that can be removed with cool water when you are done, or tailor's chalk, since the marks will be visible on the outside of the shirt. In the picture our dots are marked in yellow. (When you are done, there will be some space below the lowest buttonhole mark. This is the style we have chosen to make but you can add another buttonhole mark down another 1.5" if you would like a fourth button.)

*Note: If you choose to use snaps in place of buttons, please note that the markings on the chart are for the top of each buttonhole, not the center. To mark the center placement for snaps, you will mark the first dot 3/4" down from the stitching, and then 1.5" more for the second dot and 1.5" more for the third dot.

Step 17: Following our machine's instructions, we will now sew a vertical buttonhole down from each dot, with the dot we marked at the top. The buttonholes should be centered on the placket and approximately 5/8" long, or to match the size of the chosen buttons. Once our three buttonholes are sewn, we can open them using a seam ripper.



Step 18: Lay the plackets straight on top of each other and use a pencil to mark a dot through the center of each buttonhole to the placket below, marking the placement of each button.

Sew the buttons in place on the dots that we marked.

Step 19: Now we are going to take one of our sleeve band pieces and fold it in half widthwise with right sides facing. Sew along the short edge as shown in yellow. Repeat with the second sleeve band.

Now fold half of the band up so that both raw edges meet at the top and it forms a cuff with right sides out, as shown in the picture to the left. Pin in place so it will stay folded. Repeat with the second band.

At this point we need to check and be sure the stretch of our fabric is going the correct way. The trim bands should be able to stretch out to a larger circle to fit hands through. If the stretch is going lengthwise instead of widthwise, we need to recut and try again.



Step 20: Now we are going to slide the first band onto our sleeve and match up the raw edges and the seams. Pin the band in place, stretching it to fit the sleeve as necessary. Sew around the pinned edge, using a long stitch and being sure not to stretch the fabric any more as we go. Repeat with the second band and sleeve. Our sleeves are now done!

Note: You may choose to topstitch the sleeve after attaching the band. However, we chose not to with this particular pattern because we like how it lays without topstitching.

Step 21: We are now ready to hem the bottom of the shirt. To do this, fold up the bottom edge 1/4" and iron. Then fold up another 1/2" and iron, pinning it in place as you go. Sew around the top edge of the fold using a long stitch.


www.CreateKidsCouture.com v1.0 07/23/2014You are now done and you completed it in just 21 steps!!! Was that easy or what?!? Here are some more pictures of the shirt completed using various fabric combinations for inspiration.



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Benjamins Polo Shirt