I’ve got another new Cameron to share with you today! This one is for Sam and (spoiler alert) he loves it! He’s been wanting a lightweight denim button up for a while now. He has some heavier denim shirts that he loves the look of but they are simply too heavy and he gets too hot. I thought I would replicate the look by using a light chambray and adding in the copper topstitching. Let’s take a look!
The Cameron Button Up is on sale this weekend for 25% off! No code required. Sale ends February 16th, 2026.
Cameron makes a great gift for a loved one! Since it is Valentine’s Day today I thought I would share some tips for sewing a button up for somebody else:
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If they have a shirt that they like the fit of, use that as you guide! You can measure and check the length (body and sleeve), chest circumference, upper back width, etc. It can give you so much info!
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Don’t be afraid to grade between sizes. Chances are they fall into multiple sizes on the chart. Grading between sizes is easy to do, so don't be scared!
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Make a muslin if you can. This is the best way to ensure a good fit. You just need to muslin the front, back, and sleeves. Skip the collar and cuffs (just imagine they are there). The more you can do to ensure a good fit, the more likely they will wear it.
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Don’t forget to lengthen/shorten the sleeves! If you are adding or removing length in the body for a taller/shorter person, chances are they need that in the sleeves, too. If the sleeves end up too long or too short, you can always roll them up to the elbow!
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If it doesn’t fit perfectly when they try it on for the first time, don’t despair! Sewing for others is hard, and you will learn a lot from every project. Oftentimes people need time with a garment to get used to it, too!
I made a cute pop up card using this tutorial on youtube. I love this idea as a way to tell a loved one you are planning to make them a me-made garment. I’ve uploaded my Cameron pop-up here in case you want to download and print it out!
I made Sam’s usual size for this Cameron, a 24 in the shoulders graded down to an 18 hip. I just slowly go down the sizes as I go down the shirt. The bottom of the armscye is a 22, waist is a 20, hip is an 18. A lot of men will have more of an inverted triangle shape and will likely have to have the hips graded in. Thankfully it is easy to do! Sam is also 6’2” (188 cm) so we add 5” (12.7 cm) of length to his bodice and 3” (7.6 cm) to his sleeves.
I chose a copper topstitching thread for this project to replicate the look of his denim Wrangler shirts. I decided not to do double lines everywhere so that the nod to the western shirts was more subtle and the shirt could still be dressed up. I think it makes it more versatile. Also, this fabric is so light that two lines of heavy topstitching felt like too much weight to add to the seams. One line gave it all the personality it needed! I used a Gütermann Mara 70 Topstitching Thread in copper.
Other than the contrast topstitching, this Cameron was straightforward. No need to pattern match because the fabric is solid (yay)! I did opt for two pockets instead of one. The result is a very nice shirt that I know Sam is going to wear all the time! He loves a denim look and now he has a lightweight option that he can layer or wear as a standalone top. I look forward to seeing how this Chambray denim ages with wash and wear. I bet it will develop some gorgeous texture!
I had to ask Sam to recreate this iconic photo from our Cameron photoshoot in 2022. He puts on a good pout!
The Cameron Button Up is on sale this weekend for 25% off! No code required. Sale ends February 16th, 2026.
