Grey Chambray Fairfield Button Up Shirt

I made a few presents this Christmas including a double gauze Named Lahja dressing gown for my Mum, a Deer & Doe Sirocco jumpsuit for my sister (which I love and will definitely be making one for myself so expect a review of that pattern in future) and this shirt for my brother. I’ve made a fair number of shirts for men now (my first here about 5 years ago!) but thought it was worth posting this particular one as I used a different pattern which is very worthy of sharing. The previous shirts I’ve made have all been based on the Walden/Colette Negroni pattern and the pattern has required a bit of work to get the look I want; namely taking the pattern for a traditional collar with stand off of a RTW shirt and adding that and a classic front placket (following this shirt sew-along from Male Pattern Boldness) to replace the Negroni’s facing. As this was the first shirt I have made for my brother and I was therefore essentially starting from scratch I decided to take a look at other shirt patterns which might make my life a bit easier.

There quite a number more shirt patterns for men available than when I made my first shirt years ago but the clear choice for me to try first was the Thread Theory Fairfield Button Up. I liked that it is a very classic shirt style that can easily be made more or less casual/formal by fabric choice but also by tweaking the pattern details. You have the choice to add sleeve tabs to fasten the sleeves in a rolled up position, add a chest pocket and also whether to choose a centre back box pleat or long darts in the back for a more fitted silhouette. It has quite a contemporary neat cut without veering too far towards slim fit and actually includes patten pieces to make all sizes in a cut more suitable for someone with a fuller stomach which I think is a fantastic touch.

I would highly recommend this pattern as a starting point for anyone who hasn’t made a shirt before. The illustrated instructions are clear and thorough and guide you through many traditional shirt making techniques such as flat felled seams for a professional finish inside and the burrito method for assembling the back yoke. on how formal you want the shirt to be. For example you might interface both collar pieces and both stand pieces for a crisp, formal shirt but only one side of the collar and stand for a softer and more relaxed look. This impressive amount of detail continues throughout the instructions. You can tell that this pattern has been well researched and each construction technique considered and thought through.

The collar on this pattern is quite slim which is worth bearing in mind when choosing this pattern. For my brother it is exactly the kind of look I was after. In the instructions the collar is assembled using my preferred method which is from this popular tutorial from Four Square Walls. I find it so much easier to get a clean finish this way. A fairly quick and easy addition you can make to a more formal shirt (which I didn’t do here as this is for more casual wear) is to add slots for more collar stays to the under collar. If you’re interested in doing this I’ve got an old tutorial here.

What is interesting about this pattern is that there is no separate pattern piece for the front placket. It is drafted onto the front pattern piece and you create the illusion of a seam by sewing a sort of pin tuck right down the front. A very clever way to save pattern matching stripes or checks at the front. It was quite enjoyable to try a different way of doing things, although it was nice to realise when using tried a tested method for the collar and cuffs that these fiddly bits of sewing don’t faint me in the way they used to.

The thing I liked most about the Negroni pattern was the tower plackets on the sleeves. Every time I sewed them it amazed me how a bit of careful folding, pressing and stitching created those little contraptions! I’ve actually used the pattern piece and instructions for those tower plackets on various other projects over the years, I remember them working really well on the Grainline Archer Shirt instead of the binding. I was therefore delighted to see that the Fairfield includes tower plackets too! The method is slightly different but achieves a result just as good.

The fabric I used is a grey cotton chambray from John Lewis. I was initially looking for a heavier kind of brushed cotton for a casual winter shirt but couldn’t find quite what I was after. I’m actually really pleased that I ended up using the chambray as I think it puts the shirt in the smarter end of casual and hopefully this will mean my brother gets a lot of use out of it! The fabric was an absolute joy to work with, lightweight, crisp and presses like a dream. It made getting all those precise little shirt elements neat and tidy so much easier. I debated using white thread of the top stitching but eventually opted to keep it simple with a matching grey, reserving a little punch of white for the buttons.

I can’t really comment on the fit as I haven’t seen it on yet! Plus I didn’t measure my brother as I wanted the shirt to be a surprise. Luckily working in costume has made me pretty good at guessing clothing sizes! My brother assures me that it fits perfectly and as he is of quite average build and height I’d say the fit is true to size.

I’m so proud of the finishing on this shirt, all the top stitching and neat little corners that a project like this involves. I think it is definitely my best shirt to date and I’m eager to make more with this pattern. It was one of those projects that came together just the way it should; notches matching, seams aligning and no guesswork with the techniques. What are your favourite shirt patterns (male or female)? And do you have any shirt making tips to share?