The pattern is from December 2009 Burda Style and why oh why does it take me so long to finally make something from my patterns .Probably because I am catching up sewing from all the other old patterns.
This should have been just a quick simple make but it took several days and used several different products. Lots of people would think why bother and I sometimes ponder this as well .
Well there are several reasons why I bother.
1. I have the fabric in stash anyway - a decent quality mid- blue cotton pique knit - an op shop find from years and years ago.
2. I enjoy the sewing process as much as the finished garment .
3. I don't think I could buy a T shirt so well constructed and I want my clothes to last - none of this one season, throw away fashion for me.
Burda Style instructions are notorious for their brevity and this was no different. Thank goodness for my Kwik Sew patterns which I referred to for the front placket. In fact when you know what you are doing the burda instructions do kind of make sense ( the trick is knowing what you are doing ) .
Apart from the front placket there is stabilising the shoulder seams with cotton tape, interfacing the placket bands, under stitching and stitching and top stitching the neck band and adding hem fusible tape to the sleeve and body hems which I think helps prevents those wavy stretched out hems .Also the buttons I retrieved from an old shirt so I then had to resew on different buttons on that shirt .
Yep , so lots of effort for just a Tee. ( not to mention tracing out the pattern and adding seam allowances ) .
I made mistakes as well .The twill tape I used was really too thick for the purpose , I added a 1.5 cm allowance to the neck line but only sewed the neck binding on using a 6 mm seam and mis-spaced the buttons despite carefully measuring them. Sigh.
I do like finished top and will likely remake this. Hopefully without the mistakes .Hopefully I'll remember to read this post .
So all these words to say I sewed a T-Shirt.
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| Looks like even the dog is giving me an eye roll. |
I really like this style on you, and the colour really suits you.
ReplyDeleteI too have a pattern backlog from Burdastyle 2008, 2009, 2010 etc - I would like to get to them one day!
I'm making a t-shirt at the moment. I don't think t-shirts are wasted sewing effort. My me-made tees far outlast the bought stuff. The fabric is generally so much better and they are better made:) . Since I wear tees a lot, it just makes sense to make my own.
I don't think I have ever made a T shirt as I think they are so cheap in the shops and the variety of colours is tremendous. But you have made me think with your point of view here. This T shirt is not just a lovely shade of blue on you. It also has a working placket, nice buttons, well fitting sleeves and it is long enough. And I completely agree with you that the process is just as satisfying as the wearing and it always great to try something a bit different. Nice work.
ReplyDeleteIt's a hard balance isn't it... but a self made t-shirt at the very least will fit you how you want it to and you are right... we sew for the process not just for the result. Kind of like the drive holiday vs flying.
ReplyDeleteThis style is perfect on you-and your attention to detail makes this look luxe.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there is nothing like a nicely made top. This is a classic style of t shirt - and will stand the test of time. I disagree with fabrikated - I don't like sewing with knits, but after a good look around at the local shops, decided that the cuts at the moment are too big and baggy, and in fabrics that are so thin and flimsy you can see through them, necklines that reach to my shoulder, and in very unflattering colours and patterns. So really, even the humble tee is worth making and worth making well. Your t shirt looks lovely, and it suits you - and as you say, it's the pleasure (ahem, even with mistakes!!) of sewing that is also important.
ReplyDeleteYou can't go past a TNT tee shirt pattern! I always make my own these days.
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