Free Shipping on orders over $50. Use code SHIPFREE50 at checkout (does not combine with other discounts).

News

Menswear Contest Entries

September 08, 2026

We want to say a huge "Thank You!" to everyone who entered out August contest on Menswear. It has been a delight to celebrate Folkwear's 50th anniversary by seeing so many amazing things that our customers make. We had so many great entries and it was very fun to see what you all made and what great sewing skills were used. As always, we were impressed!

In this post I am going to show off some of the best makes we were sent. These are so great and fun, and we hope they provide some inspiration for you!

We will start with one of Folkwear's first patterns, the 102 French Cheesemaker's Smock made by Andrew (we love how many men entered their own makes in this contest).

Man standing with hand on hip in a red and white plaid shirt with a green wall behind

Our 129 Japanese Hapi was a favorite and we saw some really beautiful garments:

First, these two were made by a Folkwear customer for their spouse (who loves them). The first with a vintage Japanese cotton and the other with a dyed wool and embroidery. Beautiful!

Man in a yellow dyed wool japanese jacket with embroidery

back of man wearing a yellow dyed wool japanese jacket with embroidery

Then, Patty showed us a Hapi she made for her son from a Japanese dobby.

Man standing by a door in a japanese coat made of dobby with fish on it

And, we also were impressed with Mario's amazing 113 Japanese Kimono he made for himself this year. Great fabric!

man wearing a long purple/pink yukata kimono outside

119 Sarouelles is also a popular pattern for men. Easy to sew and comfortable. We loved this one where Susan added welt pockets to a pair she made for her son.

Man standing beside a guitar wearing brown pants and a white shirt and cap.

And James made two pair of 119 Sarouelles! He said, "I love how versatile the pattern is so I've made one in linen which I dip-dyed for a blue hombre, and another pair out of an Indian block-print cotton tablecloth I found at a charity sale (the tablecloth had too many holes to darn, so I made these instead, avoiding the holes!) I like to wear roomy, breathable clothing, so these have been a must for the summer."

I love to see 137 Australian Drover's Coat made up and being used, so it was fun to see these:

Jenni made this coat for her partner as a cycling coat. She says, "This was made a couple of years ago now and still looks like new. The fabric is a waterproof rainwear one in khaki, with reflective piping and a fantail in reflective fabric. He looks very smart in it and often gets compliments! A very successful make from a great pattern that was well suited to our needs."

man riding a bike in a street wearing a brown cycling coat

And Jacqueline who made the 137 Australian Drover's Coat for her partner from a heavy cotton/poly blend. She lined the top, placket and capelet with flannel. Looks cozy and very chic.

Man wearing a long jacket and hat with a dog beside him

Then, Karl sent us photos of two garments he made. These were so impressive and really lovely! The first is our 133 Belgian Military Chef's Coat made with a heavy black duvetyne with 9 yards of Italian velour piping. Stunning! And Karl was one of our winners!

Man with a white beard wearing a military style jacket in black velveteen

Man standing with back to camera wearing a black velveteen coat and reaching for a book

Karl also sent us photos of a 149 Norwegian Busserull he made, lengthening and widening the placket and addinig a bib to the front to make the chevron patterns. Really great!

Man walking outside by grass wearing a striped folk work shirt and trousers.

Man walking outside by grass wearing a striped folk work shirt and trousers. His back is to the camera

Another 149 Norwegian Busserull we loved was made by Cecile for her son. She added an inner "kangaroo" pouch and made this shirt with linen from the Amsterdam market. She added some embroidery to make it truly unique. We love it!

Young man standing in a cottage wearing a light blue busserull work shirt

Mairi made this 152 Scottish Kilt for a friend (her 3rd kilt) and is excited to start her next one! Amazing!

Man in an olive green kilt and jacket, side view

Johnnie finished this 158 Ghanaian Smock just before the end of the month and we are impressed!

Man standing in a yellow striped ghanaian smock in front of a blue background

202 Victorian Shirt was also a popular pattern.

Allison made a tuxedo shirt for her husband who is a concert pianist from this pattern as well as a muslin to test it first. She said: "The shirt is perfect as a tuxedo shirt. Before making the tux shirt with a fine cotton fabric, I wanted to make a “muslin” to practice making the shirt. Also, I had just purchased a new Pfaff 7550 machine, so I added some decorative stitches to test out my machine."

Close up of front of shirt with decorative stitches on a man inside a house

Man wearing a white tuxedo shirt by a piano

Amanda made this shirt with gathers in front instead of the pleat and with snaps instead of buttons. Beautiful job!

Man wearing a black shirt inside a house

And, Judi who made this shirt for her husband. The fabric for the shirt was hand-woven by the her husband and is cottolin fiber (60% cotton, 40% linen). Very impressive!

Man wearing a victorian shirt with stripes and a white front yoke

204 Missouri River Boatman's Shirt is always a very popular pattern for men. We had several entries that were fun.

Joanna made this one for her partner from a thrifted tablecloth and he wore it for a tin type photo. I love it!

man and woman in a tin type photo with old fashioned clothes

And Beth says this shirt she made for her partner is his "go to" for Renn Faires. So fun!

Man wearing a black folk shirt with ren faire costume

Tiffany made this shirt from our 212 Five Frontier Shirts pattern for her dad's birthday. Great gift!

cowboy shirt made of denim and hemp plant print hanging on a door

And our 222 Vintage Vests are always popular with men. We loved this one in particular that Tracey made for her husband. She used a tiki print and added inside welt pockets.

man sitting on a bench with print on wall behind him wearing a printed vest and white long sleeved shirt

Derrith sentthis 222 Vintage Vest made 20 years ago with English wool.

Man wearing wool vest at a table about to carve a turkey

She also sent in this photo of a 238 Le Smoking Jacket she lengthened to a house coat. Lovely!

Jocelyn made this stunning 251 Varsity Jacket for her brother. She used an old damaged printed silk kimono as the main body material, (with a layer of batting to make the jacket warm and opaque since the silk was very thin) and the sleeves are Obi silk. I love this one! And it was also one of our winners!

young man wearing a varsity jacket with chinese print on it

Back of young man wearing a varsity jacket with chinese print on it

This 251 Varsity Jacket make was also very sweet. Mary Martha made this jacket for her special needs friend who loved it. She also made her costume from our 256 At the Hop pattern -- and they have attended their local "Sock Hop" together in these costumes for the last 3 years.