For Christmas I made my husband a shirt. It was a gift, but also a little selfish since I really wanted to hide at home and sew for a few days.

I chose the Colette Negroni pattern because word on the Internet was it is an easy pattern to tackle, which turned out to be true. It was fun to put together. I may have squealed with delight, sitting there alone in my apartment. Or perhaps Tanaka-san heard me and shared in the fun.

It was a risky undertaking since I had never before made something with so much detail — pockets! button holes! cuffs! a collar! — and if the project fell terribly apart, I was left with no backup plan. Thankfully it worked out well, for both us.

This is the practice shirt, which I made out of cheap polyester-something, and it has been worn about a dozen times without washing. I think he likes it. I keep saying he can pick out the fabric for the real shirt but he has to go to Nippori with me to do so. Maybe there is a bit of selfishness in that offer, too.