Book review: Sewing shirts with a perfect fit by David Page Coffin

A few days ago I received two books to review from the Quatro Group. The first David Page Coffin's newest shirt book, released by Creative Publishing, I will talk about today, the second, on serging I will review on Friday.

First some full disclosure.

David is a friend of mine. We got to know each other when I was a frequent contributor and later a contributing editor for Threads. David has stayed at my house and is long remembered by my children as an extremely cool guy. He was probably the first person we ever had visit to meditate in the living room, or to put a bottle of greens in the fridge. I noticed he was terrific at speaking to children as if they were adults - always a valuable skill. 

So I already know David as an original, authentic thinker of many talents (he is also a painter and musician) as well as one with a very clear eye for sewing and problem solving.

David Coffin is the real deal.

So are his books.

This is of course the third book David has written on shirts. 

The first one Shirtmaking: developing skills for fine sewing is an absolute classic.

His second shirt book, The shirt making workbook: pattern, design and construction resources expands the sewer's view of how a shirt pattern can be customized and developed. The pages of beautiful collar styles for me were particularly inspirational.

The current book however takes on the really hard part of shirt-making - and that's fitting.

When I read this latest book it struck me that all David's books, this one the most, were the opposite of what someone once said to me about the internet - that it goes wide but it doesn't go deep.

When David tackles a focused area of sewing, as in this case  fitting shirts, he goes deep, always goes deep. 

You are going to want to sit down and read this one carefully, re-read some sections to make sure you have taken it all in, and then re-read it again as you try his method all out.

But it will be worth it.

What is presented here is, as far as I can figure out, a totally fresh, interesting, and effective way of getting a great fitting shirt. 

To my mind no one else has quite looked at the problems of shirt fitting this way. It's an unusual way of looking at fitting shirts and it makes perfect sense.

Common sense.

The premise is this:

It all depends on nailing an excellent shoulder upper body fit.

That is built here around a yoke molded to the body, as a base for hanging rectangles of fabric that can then be draped, or adjusted, until the fabric fits individual, male or female, big or little, curves or shapes. Armhole shapes and sleeve caps are also added to this base and these two are adjusted, the fabric saying what to do, on the body.

Templates for the basic shapes, yokes, armholes and sleeve caps (fitted, semi-fitted and dropped) are included in the book as pattern sheets. 

If you have fabric, a body to work from, and these templates you are good to go.

For those of us who will be working on ourselves Coffin also gives some really quirky and probably effective instructions for making a personal sloper out of tin foil that can be transformed into an accurate dress form. This is absolutely the first thing I am going to do when I get home from my current trip. Looks like an interesting project.

Other resources of how-to information are also given in links to the Quarto site.

But the book itself is very instructive.The fine-tuning necessary to fit the shirt body, or refine the sleeves with the draping method, are explained carefully in an extensive series of photographs. The photographic approach is also helpful in illustrating the several projects, from a casual jacket to a fitted shirt and a shirtdress -  in step-by-step detail.

There are several reasons why Coffin's original approach appeals to me:

1. He is right, it all starts at the top. 

Get that right and then smooth out the fabric makes perfect sense to me. 

When I read this book I was reminded of the many women who have show me their fit issues with shirts. One lady in particular went through 12 muslins, tweaking from one area to another trying to eliminate some new wrinkle or fold as it appeared - each alteration seeming to produce just one more problem in a completely different area. When I looked at the photos she sent me I noticed right away that she had sloping shoulders that were not settling at all well in her straight edged yoke. This was the root of all her other problems nothing else was going to get fixed until this was dealt with. 

The fact that this book includes yoke, armhole and sleeve templates (I love the different choices of sleeve cap height - could have used this on a shirt pattern I struggled to adjust this week) gives you a great starting point for establishing that critical upper body fit.

2. It looks like an easy method to me. 

After all you are working only with your hands, your fabric, and your body. If there is a measuring tape in this book I didn't seem it, nor did I see any complicated full bust alteration instructions, or other flat pattern alteration ideas. Those kinds of formulas just aren't here, as Coffin says he would rather deal direct.

So finally who would I recommend this book to?

First off anyone who really wants to make a shirt that fits really, really well, particularly if the body is not symmetrical or in any other way a "standard" size.

Second I would suggest this book to anyone who is more or less down to their last nerve with trying to find a good shirt pattern that fits, or who is fed up with trying to get a pattern they have to work for them. When you get to that point in your fitting/sewing it's time to try something completely different and this book really provides that.

Who wouldn't I recommend this book to?

Obviously any one who isn't all that concerned about or really has problem fitting wouldn't appreciate the value here. If your just want to know how to make shirts, buy Coffin's first book; if you want to customize your shirts buy his second one.

And who needs this book right away?

My poor sewer with the 12 muslins for sure.