Back in (I think) 1989 I couldn’t stop playing an album I’d just bought called ‘James House’; so when Randy Travis played the London Palladium, excited as I was to see him, I was even more excited that James was his support act. I wasn’t disappointed!

James has been singing and writing ever since; last year, a top ten hit he had in 1995 called This is Me Missing You (great song!) became a country dance favourite over here in the UK, so he has toured here again and has a terrific new album out called Songwriter’s Serenade. Here he is performing the first single from it with co-writer Natalie Noone on a recent Music City Roots:

I was delighted to run into him at the Belfast Nashville Songwriter Festival a few weeks ago – and to get to plan his first Dandy & Rose shirt with him. James likes to wear black onstage, and that’s good, but it’s just not in my nature to make an entirely black shirt. So we searched the Liberty Spring/Summer15 range and hit on a subtle, swirly print, ‘Karter’ in white, grey and lilac.

I love a plain shirt with print piping! The very first shirt I made from a vintage western shirt pattern was dark blue chambray with piping made from some Liberty print that I had left over from a dress I’d made and although I love the all-over print shirts I make, and the ones with contrast yokes, it’s nice to go back to that idea and rework it.

Here’s the original, from 2010, with the 1950s pattern I used for it:

I made James’ shirt, both the plain and print parts, entirely from Liberty’s tana lawn so it should feel good to wear and be nice and cool for the stage. I couldn’t resist putting a single lilac pearl snap on the front… very Dandy & Rose!