FO: A Tale of Two Bosties

This is a shirt with an interesting story, lol. It all started when I was looking on Joann's website at the new fabric designs and came across this Boston Terrier printed cotton interlock from their Doodles line. My sister, Shannon, has a Boston Terrier named Willie and totally loves him. I suddenly decided she needed a Bostie shirt for her birthday (which was in 6 days at that point). I drove to Joann's right then and had to do some hunting to find this print, but find it I did and I walked out with enough to make a shirt.

I asked my sister what she likes in a shirt fit-wise and decided to make her a Deer + Doe Plantain but with the raised neckline of the Sewaholic Renfrew. I didn't like the idea of using such a large print for the neck band so I dug through my stash of knits and decided to use this bright aqua blue rib knit I got at a thrift store and I love how it turned out :)

When I finished the shirt, I was really in love with it and on a serious roll. I had the notion that I could make a matching shirt for my nephew with the larger leftover pieces. That night I saw my sister and literally took the t-shirt off my nephew's back to trace a pattern from, which I did that night. He's much bigger than I anticipated, so I was only able to use the Bostie fabric on the front panel and even that I had to piece with a bottom band to get it long enough. Luckily I had plenty of the rib knit, so I just used that for all the other pieces.

So here's where it gets interesting, lol. My sister came to visit from Oklahoma a week after I made the shirt, and I quickly suspected that she would not be as amused with the Bostie fabric as I was - not in a bad way or anything, she just has a more contemporary and (dare I say) adult style then myself, haha. I had a cute Lauren Conrad blazer I picked up at a thrift store recently and thought at the time that it looked like something Shannon would wear, so I brought the Bostie shirts and gave a big schpeal that she did not need to feel obligated to keep the Bostie shirt if she thought she would never wear it and that I had an alternative offering if she so chose. I was right - I liked the shirt way more than she did (like I had actually thought of going out and getting more of the fabric to make myself one) but she did like the blazer. So now I have my own Bostie shirt and Shannon has a blazer and all is well, lol. I still insisted on doing a photo shoot with the original recipients along with her dog though before they left.

The fit came out really well so at least I know what size to make if/when I decide to make a shirt more to her taste in the future, lol. Luke didn't want to wear his shirt at first, but once we convinced him to put it on he refused to take it off so clearly he's a fan. It is now his "Willie shirt" since that's the only Bostie he knows. Willie clearly approves as well.

Haha - gross.

So now for the particulars. I made the short sleeve length and just added bands that were the same length as the bottom of the sleeve piece (personally I hate sleeves that hold tight when worn). So it turned out as a sort of cuter version of a ringer tee.

I'm really pleased with the fit on this shirt - it's snug enough to give me a shape but not digging in anywhere.

I think the fabric is so much fun! Even though I'm a corgi lover, how can you deny the cute-ness of these Bosties? Amiright?!

I did manage to get a few pictures of Luke in his shirt the night I gave it to him. These are all his own poses - my personal favorite is the "pregnant lady pose" in the center, lol. Who knows how he came up with that one. His shirt actually came out a little big, which is surprising and a bit of a relief because I was worried it wouldn't be long enough for him compared to the shirt I made the pattern from. The blue ribbing seems to have caused the shirt to grow a bit, but it's kind of a good thing because it means he will be able to wear it longer.

For the adult version, I decided to be fancy with switching my thread colors on the top stitching. Ooh, so fancy! I used my favorite twin needle finish wherever possible and always had woolly nylon thread in the bobbin. Around the neckband I used white thread while at the sleeve bands I used a matching aqua blue color so it doesn't distract. I'm pretty proud of how the sleeves turned out for such an improvised thing. I didn't want actual hem bands, so these are done like the neckband - I stitched the pieces right sides together, pressed the bands under at a width I liked the look of, then top stitched the hem in place. It looks a little interesting on the inside, but it's still neat and clean - there's just 2 seam allowances there now.

So that's it :) The shirt that wasn't actually intended for me but is now mine. It's like I made myself a gift! lol Those are always the best kinds anyway. I look forward to wearing it around on casual days to come. And my nephew thinks it's pretty cool that we have matching shirts too :) #coolestauntforthewin

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards of Doodles Boston Terrier Cotton Interlock Knit - $9.00, aqua blue rib knit - $0.25 (thrifted)
Patterns: Plantain by Deer + Doe with Renfrew neckline
Notions: knit interfacing - $0.10, thread - $0.50, woolly nylon thread - $0.25
Time: 5 hours (for both shirts)
Total Cost: $10.10