Folkwear - PDF Sewing Pattern - 217 Poet's Shirt

The Folkwear 217 Poet’s Shirt PDF Sewing Pattern is a romantic historical shirt pattern for women and men, inspired by styles worn in the 1820s and 1830s. With its relaxed collar and full sleeves, this design captures the look of the era, when poets such as Byron, Shelley and Keats wore their collars open in a break from conventional fashion. The French author George Sand also adopted men's clothing as an expression of her views on equality between the sexes.

The pattern is available in sizes SM–LG for both women and men, with two variations to choose from. View A has a plain collar and narrow cuffs for a simpler finish. View B adds a ruffle to the collar and front opening, with self-formed ruffle cuffs, reflecting the style often seen on boys' shirts of the period.

The construction uses rectangular pattern pieces, apart from the neck facing. Full sleeves with underarm gussets are gathered at the shoulders, while the straight collar falls back from a faced front slit opening. Both views have lined shoulders shaped by small neck gussets, with optional side slits that can be reinforced using small gussets. A narrow or wide neck facing finishes the neck opening.

For an authentic historical look, the pattern also includes Poet’s Shirt Lore and Authentic Detailing, with a diagram and tying instructions for a triangular cravat, as well as a simple openwork technique used on the collar of the original shirt.

Choose soft or crisp shirting and blouse-weight fabrics in cotton, linen, silk or suitable blends. The pattern is inspired by Regency and Victorian-era clothing and is a great option for historical dress, period-inspired outfits or a distinctive everyday shirt.

The PDF pattern is available to download after checkout and includes print-at-home files in A4 and US Letter (8.5 x 11 inches), copy shop files in A0 and 36-inch formats, plus instructions and detailing.

Yardage chart (.pdf)

LEARN MORE:

• Learn how to expand sizing of this shirt, as well as how to sew the tricky bits of the shirt (neck and underarm gussets).