Tee Top Challenge

 

What I’m sewing:  Looking forward to Spring

 

Now that the holidays are past, I have been looking forward to spring (break): warm weather, sun, and lighter clothing.  Fall and spring seem to be my time for new clothes – probably a hold over from my childhood where there were always new clothes for school in the fall and a new outfit for Easter.  So, I dug into the stash which had grown substantially with the passport event and started sewing.

First up were two shirts for my husband.  We found blue and yellow striped shirt weight cotton fabrics at Fabrications.  The fabrics have a lovely hand and the stripes were helpful in getting all the pieces to line up!  I made sure that the center fold of the fabric was along one stripe and then all the stripes matched down the shirts.  I used the Liesl & Co. All-Day Shirt pattern.  The pattern instructions were clear with very good instructions on how to finish the yoke and the sleeve welts.  I’m not production sewing these days, so each shirt was a week project including a day to make all those buttonholes (by machine) and then sew on the buttons (also by machine).  

With the shirts out of the way, I next moved on to pants, shirts, and dresses.  I had already made three pairs of pants during last September’s retreat, so I did one more out of a tan stretch cotton from Haberman’s.  While Georgie Jeans from Style Arc is still my favorite jean style pattern, Liesl & Co. Montauk Trousers have become my favorite woven fabric pattern for pants.  The pattern is a virtual clone of my very favorite summer pants from L.L. Bean!  The fabric resists wrinkles, so these pants will probably be my go-to travel pants.

I don’t need more tops but I have a lot of top fabric.  I always seem to buy a piece of knit to go with each piece of pants fabric.  So, I had this lovely white crepe scuba knit from Haberman’s.  I had two yards and it was 60 inches wide and after I cut the first top, I had enough for a second one.  The first one was Liesl & Co. Chai Tee (bottom left in the picture).  This is a cute cap sleeve top with a yoke and front pleats.  It is a little dressier than my usual scoop neck tee.  I liked the small pleats at the shoulder and the over the shoulder yoke.  What I did not like was how the yokes were constructed.  The instruction used the “burrito” method for the first yoke which was okay and did enclose the seams.  But on the other side the seams were just sewn up, finished with your choice of seam finish and then left exposed.  So why enclose one side and not the other?  The instructions from the All-Day Shirt would have worked fine.  I hacked the pattern and enclosed the seams of the second shoulder within the yoke.  The thickness of the fabric also resulted in lumpy places where multiple seams came together.  I will make this tee again but with less spongy fabric and without facing the yoke pieces.  On to the next top, the Besharl Knit Tee from Style Arc (top pictures).  This pattern has the side seam wrapped to the front and an inserted band down the center back.  I made this out of the remains of the white crepe scuba knit.  The final top is the Teagan Knit Top from Style Arc which also is slightly wrapped to the front along the side seams (bottom right).  I did this one in a rayon/spandex knit from Fabrications in lapis blue.  The pattern has cut on short sleeves with small rolled cuffs.  I decided not to roll the cuffs.  

 A dress or two are nice when you might go out to a restaurant!  I was influenced here by some dresses I saw at Fabric-Store.com (seller of very nice linen) and at SewBatik (seller of batik).  I took several days studying patterns and then picked the Lena Shift from Style Arc with optic white linen from the Fabric-Store.com and the Montana Midi Dress from Style Arc with a lapis blue border print batik from SewBatik.  The Lena Shift reminds me of a dress I loved back in the classic late 60’s.  This pattern has nice clean lines with pocket top stitched to the front.  I decided that this was the perfect canvas for Sashiko.  I have done Sashiko by hand but I also have a Babylock Sashiko machine and used it with dark blue thread to stitch a diamond pattern on what are the front and back bodice sections of the dress.  I drew the stitching lines in heat disappearing pen and stitched out the front.  Then I did the same for the separate back sections.  Once I sewed the back seam, I discovered that the line of Sashiko stitching did not line up.  Oops!  I had matched the raw edges of the back seam and then had drawn the lines across which meant that when sewn, the lines were misaligned by the width of the seam allowance.  So, I pulled out the mismatch and did the Sashiko again.  I am very pleased with the result. 

The final piece is the Montana Midi Dress made with rayon batik border print.  I had three yards of 45-inch fabric which would have been more than enough but it is a border print and the lay out is different.  There are two skirt pieces each cut on the fold and the front and back bodice pieces are each cut twice on the fold (outer and lining) and then the pockets.  I am short and was able to squeak it out.  I will remember to order extra fabric the next time I use a border print.  I think the dress turned out well and has a nice tropical feel. 

That is what I have been sewing (also some rope bowls as a diversion).  Now it’s almost time to pack for spring break and Caribbean sun.  Happy Spring, Happy Sewing.  

Sandy Herman, Lansing Clippers Member