Trapezoid Top

You know those off-kilter tee shirts that pop up every so often in Burdastyle magazine? Well, they finally sucked me into making one of them. This is top #107 from the February, 2018 issue.

And here's the line drawing below.

BS 02-2018-#107

It really is as wonky as it looks. But I think I kind of like it.

Side view showing the long side

There are only two pattern pieces - front and back. The neckline is just turned and stitched, so there isn't even a neckband to put on. In fact, the sewing part of the project was a total walk in the park.

The pattern tracing, on the other hand, was a challenge. Maybe my eyes are getting worse in my old age, but I had a heck of a time following the lines on this one. True, the pattern pieces are large and oddly shaped. In fact, they're so large Burda has laid each piece out in two chunks that you need to tape together at the end.

But once the tracing and cutting are done, you just zip up four seams and Bob's your uncle.

Side view showing the short side

I used a light weight french terry in a color called "charcoal" that I found at Hart's. I originally bought it planning to make a tee shirt for The Man, but once I got it home all I could see was this trapezoid top. Sorry, honey. Yet he still volunteered to do my photo shoot this morning. He's a sweetie.

The style is a bit edgy for this beach town gal, but I feel I should stretch myself every now and again. The terry makes it feel like a cozy sweatshirt, but maybe with more of an urban vibe. During my test-wearing session it felt comfortable and pretty much stayed put, once I fluffed my neckline into shape.

I think I'll get some use out of it! And I did go back to get another piece of this fabric for The Man.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

The Brindille & Twig Tee - Does It Fit?

In this post I reviewed the Basic Tee by Brindille & Twig.

At long last, here it is being modeled by the boy who is, in my estimation, the cutest baby in the world:

The Frida Kahlo print

 My new grandson.

As you may recall, I traced the 6 month size for my Grandma sewing spree. The Grandson isn't quite 2 months old, but these tees already seem to fit him pretty well.

The vintage VW Bus version; truly unique!

 It remains to be seen if he can squeeze into them in 4 more months. No worries though. I can just trace out a larger size for next time. I should have him covered until he starts kindergarten. This pattern includes sizes up to 6T.

Rocky Raccoon version

 The raccoons seem to irritate him.

But he seems to find Frida soothing. Though I hear he's peed on her at least once. The other duds are still too big for him. I'll let you know how they work out as he ages into them.

He is big enough to hang out on his elephant skin blanket though!

Froggy Coco

I'm taking a sewing class through Watsonville Aptos Adult Education. Strictly speaking, it's a sewing workshop. We meet for 3 hours every Thursday evening and sew our hearts out. Our teacher, Sara, is a total doll, and one of the most patient people I've ever met. She teaches sewing to middle schoolers; something few of us could manage without a rum and coke at the ready. She's Thread Monster Studio on Facebook. She has a bunch of handy-dandy sewing links on her page.

One of the other students in our class made up a french terry version of Coco which was so cute I decided I should give the pattern a try.

I made this top as a Christmas present for my friend, Carol. She likes tops that are a bit on the long side and not too tight fitting, so I thought Coco might be her cup of tea. Plus, she's got a thing about frogs, and look at the fabric I found at Hart's:

two frogs chillin' on a lily pad

 Not sure you can tell from this photo, but those are little frogs sitting on lily pads. You don't often find a frog themed fabric that someone who isn't a toddler can get a way with, so I figured it was meant.

side view

Carol is about my size. I cut a size 3 based on my 35ish inch bust and I think it should work out OK for her.

back view - wings!

If I were making it for myself, I'd narrow down the bottom hem. You can see from the back view that  there's more fabric down there than I can use. The size 3 is expecting a 37 inch hip, which I sure don't have. Carol tends to prefer a loose fit though, so I think it will serve.

The neckline is a tad wide on me; almost into bra-strap territory. Next time I make this up, I'll narrow the neck just a bit.

I used a new-to-me neckband technique that I found on a tutorial for kid tees. I think I kind of like it.

close-up of neckband technique

You cut your band (I usually cut 2 inches) and sew to the neck edge with right sides together. Trim your seam a bit and then fold the neckband to the inside and stitch in the ditch on the front. Or in the general area of the ditch if you're like me and not too accurate with these things. Then just trim off any extra neckband on the inside close to the stitching. It feels a little less bulky than other methods I've used.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

Seeking a Woven Tee

I've been auditioning patterns for the role of "favorite woven tee." Every wardrobe needs one, don't you think? My candidates so far have been the Grainline Scout and Gertie's portrait blouse, which can be made without the zipper and waist tucks if you're after some simple, slip-over action.

So just what is a woven tee anyway? Here are a couple snippets from Wikipedia that make sense to me:

"A T-shirt (or tee shirt, or tee) is a style of fabric shirt, named after the T shape of the body and sleeves. It is normally associated with short sleeves, a round neck line known as a crew neck, with no collar." Tee shirts are "slip-on garments without buttons" and are "easily fitted, easily cleaned, and inexpensive." 

Huh. I thought they were named after golf tees because golfers wear them while out on the links. You learn something new every day!

Anywhoo, here is McCall's 8050, an oldie but a goodie. I made this bad boy on the last day of sewing camp.

Sorry for the yellow tinge - due to afternoon light through mustard colored shades

It looks like this pattern is out of print. The date on the envelope is 1996, which is probably about when I first picked it up at the flea market. A kimono sleeve version of this pattern (the middle row on the pattern envelope) is one of my oldest me-mades still in existence. 

This time I made view A, the one in the upper right corner. How have I never noticed this view before? It's just what I've been looking for. I like the squared off neckline and I've been wanting something with set-in sleeves. The older I get, the more I think about sun protection. 

side view

I cut a size 8 after checking the finished garment measurements. According to the size chart, the 8 should fit a 31.5 inch bust. Except the size 8 has a finished bust measurement of 39.5 inches. Eight inches of ease. Honestly, I wonder how many people believe the size charts on the back of the pattern envelope and then just give up garment sewing in disgust?

The size 8 fits my 35ish inch bust just fine, and the shoulders feel like they sit about right. I was worried the neckline might gape, but it stays in pace pretty nicely. 

back view

I used a Kaffe Fassett shot cotton, which should feel cool and breezy on a hot summer day. This fabric is kind of like linen, in that it always looks a little rumpled. I'm thinking of that as a design feature. I haven't washed the finished top yet, so I'm not sure if I'll feel like I have to press before wearing. My standards are pretty low though, so probably not.

The top is super simple to put together. Well, except for trying to ease in the sleeve cap. I had this issue with the Scout woven tee too. I wonder if you need extra ease at the shoulder to help these tops slip on and off? I'll be experimenting with reducing that sleeve cap in version #2. I'll let you know how that works out.

Parting shot with background dog

If you happen to come across this pattern, I can recommend it. Especially if reducing the sleeve cap ease works out OK. Looks like you can find it pretty easily on Ebay for 5 bucks or less. I really like my old kimono sleeve version too. I might need to make another one of those sometime soon. 

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

Yes, Another Renfrew

Another length of stashed knit has moved to a higher plane:

Another Renfrew, V-neck edition

The Renfrew top, from Sewaholic, is truly the pattern that keeps on giving. This is probably the 10th Renfrew I've made, but! This is my first Renfrew with a V-neck!

I've made a passel of scoop-neck Renfrews and at least 4 cowl-neck Renfrews. Those cowl-necks. Oh, so cozy. Like wearing a top with a built in scarf.

I don't know why it's taken me so long to get around to the V-neck. Maybe I was worried about how to get the ends of the neckband to meet neatly in the front? Turns out there were no neckband issues at all. Tasia's directions are super clear and everything came together well on my first attempt.

I used one of the bits of knit that I got at the Tilton booth in Puyallup. It's a gray and green stipe, very soft and drapey. I had one yard, which was just enough to squeeze out this tee.

I got these three lengths as a three-yard bundle, with the idea of trying some bold color blocking. Turns out I'm not that bold yet. Maybe next time....

side view

But I was sassy enough to cut the cuffs witth the stripes going a different direction than the body.

Opposing cuffs

So, now I've tried all three of the neckline variations on one of my favorite patterns. And I'm glad I did. I see a few more V-neck versions in my near future.

Maybe one of these days I'll try one of the other two sleeve lengths!

A New Top and Me Made May

This tee shirt is Burdastyle 126 from February of 2013. It's my March contribution for my Make a Garment a Month challenge.

I really did have it done by March 31, but I haven't had a chance to grab a photo. It's been raining on the Central Coast - yahoo! It's not enough to turn around our current drought, but my garden is looking much happier and when the sun comes out everything is so bright and fresh and sparkling - just what Spring should look like. It does make fashion shoots more challenging though.

Let's try a close-up so you can see the sleeve detail a bit better:

Hmm. Not that much better, huh? This is a raglan sleeve tee shirt. The sleeves are gathered in the front and back before you attach them to the body of the shirt. I think it gives an otherwise plain tee shirt a bit of va-va-voom. Too bad the design details are overpowered by the pattern on my fabric. Though I do like the fabric a lot. It's very soft and comfy and seems to have great recovery. I grabbed it on my knit-buying extravaganza at Backstitch in Nevada City. I got a giant piece for $10 - enough left for a dress or a couple more tee shirts at least.

I'm wearing it along with another pair of pants (a.k.a. trousers) made from Burdastyle 127a from October, 2013. I've been wearing my first version so often I figured I could use a back-up. I altered the pattern to use a cut-on fly rather than separate pattern pieces. It made inserting the fly a lot easier, but I can't say my results are much better. The inside still looks pretty messy at the bottom of the zipper, and, despite diligently ironing on interfacing, my fly shield stretched out towards the top, causing a sad pooch right below the button. I don't normally wear my shirts tucked in with these pants though, so I'm not stressing about it too much. Otherwise I really like the fit of this pattern. The legs are narrow but not tight and the pockets are just the right size.

Zip pooch on display. More zipper practice will make perfect, I hope

In other news, I'm going to be hopping in the pool for Me Made May this year.

Back when I first retired and friends and family would ask me what I was going to do, I'd say that I wanted to sew all my clothes. They'd mumble, "How...interesting," give me the side-eye, edge back a few steps and in other ways indicate that they questioned my sanity.

About that time I stumbled on Zoe's blog, where she was hosting one of the early Me Made Mays. I had a fabulous time following along with her daily documentation of her efforts and followed links to other people who thought sewing your own clothes wasn't crazy at all. I fell down the internet rabbit hole of sewing where I've been happily wallowing ever since.

By now I've come pretty far in my quest to make my entire wardrobe, so to kick up my challenge a notch, I, Nancy D, will attempt to wear nothing but me-made items for the month of May. Excepting underwear and shoes. Though I do want to try the Bambi Soft Bra from Ohhh Lulu. And I have a pile of knit scraps that would make excellent undies. I was wondering aloud a while back about how I could make my own shoes and my son said, "Mom! Stop it! You're scaring me!" Do you think cobbling is taking it too far?

My review of the tee pattern is here on PatternReview.com

Cozy Renfrew

White shirts are a No, but white dogs are AOK

The February challenge for Make a Garment a Month is to make something white, something beaded, or something warm. I haven't been able to wear white near my face since I was a dewy young 40-year old, and sewing something beaded is probably a little beyond my skill level (and my patience). But I can always use another cozy garment, even though we've been having unseasonably warm and dry weather here on the Central Coast.

The Renfrew Top, by Sewaholic Patterns, needs no introduction. This is a Renfrew of the cowl neck persuasion. I've probably made more iterations of the Renfrew than any other pattern in my stash. I have at least three cowl neck versions alone, and I don't know how many round necks. I haven't even started on the v-necks yet! But who can't use multiples of a comfortable, slightly fitted tee shirt with sleeve and neckline variations?

My fabric is a mystery knit. It's very light weight - almost transparent. But the surface is brushed so it feels like a sweater knit. I pre-treated by throwing it in the washing machine and dryer along with all my other laundry and it came out as soft and drapey as it went in. The colors are pretty true to life in this photo. It's chocolate brown with polka dots in mustard, teal, sage, white and dark rose. Now that I've used it to produce a finished garment I can see it goes with darn near everything in my wardrobe. Plus it's surprisingly warm and cozy to wear.

I got this knit, along with four others, at a great little fabric store in Nevada City, California, called Backstitch. It's owned by a nice lady named Deanna Bratt. She's a designer and the store showcases some of the items she's designed and sewn. All super cute.

 

In the back of the store she has rolls of fabric that she picks up in the garment district in Los Angeles. She passes on the goodness at extremely reasonable prices. If you're touring the Gold Country along Highway 49 and find yourself in Nevada City, I highly recommend a stop!

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.

Sewn Christmas Presents

This year I only sewed presents for one person: The Man.

Two Tee Shirts

The Man wears jeans and a tee shirt most every day, and looks very classy and attractive doing so. He has very specific requirements for his tee shirts, to wit:

1. high, round neck
2. pocket (he's a fountain pen guy)
3. no logos, writing or designs anywhere
4. no scratchy labels at the back of the neck
5. slim fit
6. extra, extra long (he wears them tucked into the jeans and hates when they pull out at the back)

After several fruitless trips to Macy's and Nordstrom's we had to admit that this kind of tee shirt is almost impossible to find. Actually, for us it was impossible to find.

Luckily, I can sew! I got my hands on his favorite tee shirt and traced it to make a pattern. I was a little worried about getting the arm scythe and sleeve cap right, so I trued my pattern by comparing it to the Pete men's tee shirt pattern on the Burdastyle site.

I hied myself to Hart's and got 1.5 yards of some nice, 100% cotton knit in three colors I thought The Man might tolerate. While he was out of the house, I quickly cut my fabric and sewed those babies up, using the stretch stitch on my Babylock.

I wrapped them up and put them under the tree. And when he opened them, he actually liked them! Even the colors were OK. In fact, he said it would be swell if I could make him a couple more. Success! Ah, a sewist's life is sweet.

Why are there only two shirts pictured above, if I got three lengths of knit? It's a sad story. In my rush to finish up before The Man returned, I sewed the second sleeve of shirt #3 in upside down. Doh. In my defense, the stretch factor of this knit was different from the other two, but still, I should have known something was up.

I tried to pick out the seam, but no go. I was making holes in the fabric. I asked myself whether The Man might enjoy a flutter-sleeve tee shirt as a change from his usual style. Also no go.

So I'll save the carcass to use for undies for myself, and I'll pick up another 1.5 yards of the fabric for Shirt #3 next time I head out for Hart's. And now I know that he's approved of the color!

Kirsten Tee Three Ways

I love the Kirsten Kimono Tee pattern from Maria Denmark. It's the perfect light layer to wear under a cardigan or jacket. You can sew one up in about an hour (or less if you're faster than me). It's almost sleeveless but not quite, so you can feel cool and stylish but keep your shoulders covered. It takes just one yard of knit fabric, leaving enough leftovers to cobble together a pair of undies if you're so inclined. The boat neck is flattering yet modest And did I mention it's free?

I had a little Kirsten sewing frenzy week before last. My friend Lisa and I had a fabulous birthday weekend at The Claremont in Berkeley. To further my diabolical plan to suck her into sewing, we stopped by Stone Mountain & Daughter and I made her advise me on Minoru fabric as well as some knits for Kirsten tees. And sure enough, she left with some knit for a Kirsten of her own.

It's interesting to sew the same pattern several times in a row. For one thing, I was getting pretty darn efficient by the time I got to Kirsten #3. For another, you can really see how different fabrics behave. The top Kirsten is in a heftier and not very stretchy fabric. Think of a men's tee. Kirsten #2 is in a lighter and stretchier knit, and Kirsten #3 below is in the lightest, drapiest knit of them all.

I'm trying to get better at picking the right fabric for the job, and knowing how to manage their properties when I work with them. I had to tweak the neckband length for these babies, based on my guess of how much bounce and recovery they'd have. I didn't do too bad, if I do say so myself.

Practice, practice, practice! And how nice to end up with three new wardrobe staples at the end of it all!