Sasha from Secondo Piano seems to sew only perfect things. Her blog is a monument to how I wish I could sew - thoughtful, referent to her style, unique and creative.
Her free tshirt pattern was designed with the intent that we all can make a tshirt, and therefore should have access to a great, simple and basic tshirt pattern - in order to minimise the fast fashion/overconsumption of buying cotton tshirts farmed on cotton-unfriendly land and made in employee-unfriendly Bangladesh and in other xx factories around the world.
I liked that in her initial post she pointed out how important it is to also think about the fabrics that we buy and where they come from. Cotton has long been touted as a magical fabric, and so it's important to remember that cotton can be farmed easily in very few places because it demands specific weather conditions and huge amounts of water. Cotton farming has led to the lowering of aquifers in the southeastern part of the United States.
Lately I've shopped quite a bit in op-shops/consignment shops/thrift stores. This sometimes makes me feel like sewing is almost unnecessary. I have a body shape that fits in things easily so I don't require changes to everything I buy, and there are So Many Cheap Things in op shops - it seems stupid to ever consider buying new. Especially since as a shopaholic I know all the brands and am perfectly happy riffling through racks of cheap shit to find the awesome $5 pants that I know sold in a shop for $200. Sewing can be so wasteful! I do love upcycling but sometimes it can be frustrating as you have less control over your materials, compared to a nice flat meter of fabric. I've come out of this with the reminder that sewing for me is a hobby - it's a luxury to make my own things to my own taste.
With all that said, here's my take on Sasha's tshirt.
I made the XS.
It fit perfectly with one change - 1 removed the bottom 2 inches of the shirt.
It unfortunately gained a bunch of melted polyester around the neck because my friend was ironing before me. Also the sewing machine I'm using right now isn't friendly with such stretchy knits, and so I expect the hem and sleeves to pop stitches soon. I really like the precise fit (despite somewhat demented expressions in photos) and so I will use this pattern again, but for now I think I have enough tshirts and I have to stop making more!
Her free tshirt pattern was designed with the intent that we all can make a tshirt, and therefore should have access to a great, simple and basic tshirt pattern - in order to minimise the fast fashion/overconsumption of buying cotton tshirts farmed on cotton-unfriendly land and made in employee-unfriendly Bangladesh and in other xx factories around the world.
I liked that in her initial post she pointed out how important it is to also think about the fabrics that we buy and where they come from. Cotton has long been touted as a magical fabric, and so it's important to remember that cotton can be farmed easily in very few places because it demands specific weather conditions and huge amounts of water. Cotton farming has led to the lowering of aquifers in the southeastern part of the United States.
Lately I've shopped quite a bit in op-shops/consignment shops/thrift stores. This sometimes makes me feel like sewing is almost unnecessary. I have a body shape that fits in things easily so I don't require changes to everything I buy, and there are So Many Cheap Things in op shops - it seems stupid to ever consider buying new. Especially since as a shopaholic I know all the brands and am perfectly happy riffling through racks of cheap shit to find the awesome $5 pants that I know sold in a shop for $200. Sewing can be so wasteful! I do love upcycling but sometimes it can be frustrating as you have less control over your materials, compared to a nice flat meter of fabric. I've come out of this with the reminder that sewing for me is a hobby - it's a luxury to make my own things to my own taste.
With all that said, here's my take on Sasha's tshirt.
I made the XS.
It fit perfectly with one change - 1 removed the bottom 2 inches of the shirt.
It unfortunately gained a bunch of melted polyester around the neck because my friend was ironing before me. Also the sewing machine I'm using right now isn't friendly with such stretchy knits, and so I expect the hem and sleeves to pop stitches soon. I really like the precise fit (despite somewhat demented expressions in photos) and so I will use this pattern again, but for now I think I have enough tshirts and I have to stop making more!
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