Now, then Zen

The Sewing Workshop's Now and Zen pattern is my go-to for upcycling men's shirts. This was a size large man's camp shirt in a wonderful gray-blue linen. I included the hanger picture because it's the only one I could get that seemed to match my perception of the color.

*wrong* way to use my seam ripper, though sometimes you just have to do it this way!

Though this is a simple top, I spent more time on it than you might think. Much unsewing was required, and I did not want to damage this old linen. Luckily I remembered the *correct* way to use my seam ripper. That did speed things up.

*correct* way to use the seam ripper, as I've learned lately. The red ball goes inside to prevent tears in the fabric.

Because this fabric looks the same on both sides, I was able to switch the left-over-right fronts to right-over-left fronts by simply flipping the the two fronts (turning them upside down). To be safe I flipped all the other pieces too.

I had to use the original yoke pieces to create small wedges in the side seams. I created a V-neck line and did not use the collar at all. Yet.

I was able to cut the sleeves from the original sleeves. The Now and Zen pattern calls from long sleeves so I just used the cap of the sleeve.

I love making French seams with light-weight linen. It is so cooperative.

The side-seam wedge took some finagling and I'm still not completely happy.

I used tape to mark the placement of the wedge in the side seam.

The Now part is finished and so I'll begin the Zen part. For me, the Zen part is sashiko. That'll be pure Zen.

Just had to lower the pocket ( and put it on the new *right* side).