Merino Strathcona Henleys

A while ago, both Courteney and I visited The Fabric Store when they had their end of season sale.  We were lucky enough to buy merino at from memory 40% off.  To say we didn't hold back would be somewhat of an understatement and Courteney in particular took her merino purchases to the next level.  In New Zealand our winters are cold.  Well, by southern hemisphere standards anyway.  Courteney is a student so heating her rented student house is a luxury she and her flatmates try to avoid where possible.  This all means that warm clothing is quite the necessity in winter and what better way than merino to stay warm.  

I had stocked up last year when Thread Theory had a discount pattern sale and bought most of their patterns in pdf format.  It was months before I even printed them out let alone thought about making any up.  When I showed Courteney the Strathcona Henley, she didn't take much convincing to give it a try.  Both of us liked the button front and a go to tee pattern is a worthwhile investment on any level.  

She started by making variations for her boyfriend, Michael, mixing and matching her fabrics to make each tee a bit different. The buttons for the henley she ordered from Aliexpress and bought an entire box of wooden buttons in varying designs for next to nothing.  

When she was done making Michael's tees, she decided to use her leftovers to make a tee for Joel.  She used some of her grey merino and used a tee Joel had tie dyed but was now too small for the sleeves and pocket.  At 13 Joel is still a little small for the Strathcona pattern so Courteney just traced around a favourite tee of Joel's for the pattern.  For the second tee she used remnant fabric for the sleeves and pocket.

Callum was next on her project list but the finished tee did not match his styling requirements so Joel put his hand up and collared that one as well.  It is a little on the large size but he assures us that oversize is in.  While not a fan of the extra long tees some teen males wear, at least it will fit him for a while.

Lastly, before Courteney's tee making went off the boil (not an intentional pun I assure you) , she made one up for her father.

The most difficult part of this entire process, I think Courteney would agree, is getting a decent photograph of her father wearing the new tee.  We told him that photographs are a condition of getting anything made.  Being a camera shy male, I think pulling teeth may have been easier.