“Coffee” Shirt for Tim

My husband really likes his coffee.

One of his favorite beverages is a double shot of espresso — no milk or sugar, thank you.

Any coffee-related gift is a sure bet. One of the earliest presents I gave to him was an oven mitt made with a coffee-themed fabric. For his birthday a couple months ago, I gave him this.

Over the holidays, I hit on the idea that he needs a coffee-themed shirt. He has a few casual, sort of Hawaiian-style shirts that he likes, and he has a silkscreened T-shirt featuring a coffee design that I gave him a few years ago. A coupon for fabric was burning a hole in my pocket and had to be redeemed by December 31, so we made a trip to Pacific Fabrics.

First we looked at the coffee-print fabrics in the quilting cottons, but they were all a little too "cute-sy" for a guy. Then we perused the batiks. I had pulled out a couple of bolts, when I spotted a batik with coffee cup motifs. Well, that was the obvious choice.

Tim went on his way, and I picked out a pattern, some buttons and thread.

The selection of patterns for men's shirts was pretty limited. Among three catalogs (McCall's, Simplicity, and Kwik Sew) there were just 6 that I considered, out of maybe 10 or 12 different patterns (if that many). I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but it was a big change from the time I made a couple of men's shirts some 20 or so years ago.