Handmade shirt - a 3D textbook.

Once in awhile a really unusual and beautiful piece shows up at St. Vinnies. This shirt LEAPT out at me from the "vintage" rack. It is completely handmade, not a machine stitch on it anywhere. Does anyone recognize a culture, tribe or spiritual significance, etc., for this shirt? I will tell you what i know about it's construction, based on being a textile geek who has practically memorized "Cut my Cote" , the most important 36 pages ever written about how our clothing shapes evolved as we began to manufacture cloth.

underarm gusset - the mark of a folkloric shirt made with no pattern. No curved seams. No darts.

 Outside view of underarm gusset attached to  yoke and sleeve. This is a hallmark of many folk garments in cultures the world over that allows for ease of arm movement. Folk garments are made of squares and triangles. There are never any scraps. When you are weaving fabric by hand, every inch is precious. You weave the lengths you need for the garment you are going to make; sleeves, front, back, yokes. But the body being a rounded shape needs little pieces inserted into critical places to make flat squares fit. As the Industrial Revolution cranked up the steam-powered looms to make yards of fabric at speeds never before possible, clothing became more elaborate, with curved cuts allowing more form-fitting and creative styles to emerge. However, even though this is obviously modern machine-made cotton broadcloth, the maker is faithful to the tradition of  how a garment is made - no patterns, just a few measurements from the intended wearer (chest circumference, arm length, neck opening, finished garment length)

Incredible stitch density and control of tension, but obviously NOT machine-done!

handworked buttonholes. Buttons stitched on in an X pattern, not parallel I I, as machines do. Thread knotted on the back for security. Not going to pull these off.

interior view of cartridge pleated lower front attached to yoke. Fabric folded over and pleated and sewn down first, then smocked (decorative stitching over pleats) then attached to the yoke piece with some kind of bridging stitch between the two pieces done in embroidery floss. 

inside view of cartridge-pleated smocked section. These sections occur on the tops of sleeves, at the cuffs and on both front and back yokes.

two snaps on each cuff, also hand-sewn. Notice large decorative floss topstitch on edges. The hand-done Zig-zag suggests the maker has seen a zz stitch on a modern (1950+)  sewing machine

 Reverse side of embroidery, all threads carefully knotted and fastened.

Lower edge hem, turned twice and hand-topstitched.

 Exterior view. Look at that beautiful smocking. Good view of the lace-like connecting stitch that holds the major pieces together. 

So what do the colors mean? Pink and green and white? I love this sceme, but wonder if there is a meaning attached. If i had to guess, i think the shirt is some kind of Middle Eastern origin. But then again, maybe Mexico? In any case, i'm glad it was not ruined by machine washing and drying - which would cause all kinds of puckering and ugliness with the embroidery. Handwash cold, dry flat.

I paid $10 for this lovely garment. It fits in the body, but the neck-hole is too tight if buttoned, as are the cuffs. I bought it not so much to wear as to study the construction, as i will be handsewing several garments in the desert this winter, and this shirt is a textbook. I sewed several shirts entirely by hand when i was in high-school, but they were from a McCall's pattern, not real folkloric stuff. 

 I look forward to recreating this (sans embroidery) this winter!