Military Influence

Army jacket on the runway.

Military influences in fashion come and go. 2010 was a big year for designers to include olive green and khaki in their palettes. But according to Erin, who keeps us young around here, the fashionable army jacket is back.

I love the color olive, and I love our new organic cotton knits even more. So I decided to make our MixIt Shirt as a comfy and casual "one-step-up-from-a-sweatshirt" in Moss Green. And I wanted to incorporate some of the hand running stitches using our new embroidery floss in Leaf Green. This technique has become my evening ritual while I "watch" TV as my husband clicks from station to station. I know you get that.

MixIt Shirt in Moss Green Organic Knit

I purposely cut out the MixIt one size larger than I normally make it and lengthened it two inches. Knowing I wasn't going to hem it either, I left the hem allowance which makes it even longer.

I used the collar insertion method that is in the guide sheet, cutting off the outer seam allowances and placing the two collars wrong sides together.

I cut off the front self facing from the pattern and cut it separately along with the back facing and then applied both with the wrong sides together, leaving the edges raw.

The pocket is my favorite detail. I cut two curved pockets (a total of four pockets - two for each side) that exend into the side seams. I pinned one pocket layer to the shirt front and hand stitched a rectangle where I wanted a pocket opening. Then I cut it through the center of the rectangle through both layers. I then pinned the second pocket piece to the stitched and cut one and sewed and serged around the curved edges. I made sure the pocket extended to within 1 1/2" from the bottom.

Stitched and cut pocket detail.

I cut three strips of knit 2 1/4" wide, using two to face the sleeves and one for the bottom hem of the shirt.

I machine sewed and serge-finished the garment shoulder, side, and sleeve seams - essentially machine sewing the garment together.

The decorative stitching is a combination of hand stitching and machine stitching. I machine sewed the front and back facings and sleeve and bottom hem facings to the garments along the inside edges. Then used four strands of the embroidery floss and a running stitch to stitch along the outer raw edges of the colar, sleeves, center fronts and collar.

Machine buttonholes and buttons, and you're ready to go!