The Autumn tshirt binge sew

If there's one thing you can count on, it's that when I stop remembering my last tshirt binge sew, it's time for another one!  I don't know why I can't just stick to my TNT tshirt patterns, because I definitely have a few...there's a unicorn out there...

In this binge I sewed:
-The Lane Raglan
-The Woodstock swing tee, a free pattern by Hey June in teen sizes up to size 16
-The ebony, low neck version A since I had made the raglan sleeve top during my last binge
-plus the Instinc-Tee by Sasha from Secondo Piano, also a free tshirt. You can find it here.

This particular binge sew had me thinking about serial sewing - you know, when you sew one new pattern 3 times?  Everyone who blogs really well made things...they all do it.  And they kind of duck their heads in embarrassment and say, well, you know, I made one so then I had to make a few more!  I think that's actually a genius way of instinctively riding your enthusiasm for a new pattern until you get it to fit - because the truth is that no pattern is going to magically fit.  (I'll write about my Alabama Chanin experiments soon...)

Lane Raglan:
Size: S
Scrap of merino +?  silk?
Verdict: great fit at the shoulders, way too long, and the front and back are easy to confuse. 

Version 2, which is actually the tshirt I've been envisioning for the past 6 months and which was the cause of both of the last 2  tshirt binges.
Fabric: liberty jersey
side panels: merino blend jersey
I shortened by 4" and removed the curved hem.  I sewed this last thing at night, and you know, I did say something like the front and back are easy to mix up. Right? So my binding is on backwards.  I'm very grumpy about this, but I'm trying to convince myself it's a design feature.

Woodstock tee, size 16:
free pattern!
Free fabric!  (Thanks Tessa.)
I'll make the sleeves a bit longer next time, otherwise this is great!

Ebony, size 2:
fabric: silk blend, still lots left over
verdict: wtf this is short...
I also found the arms really really tight.  

 So I made another one!  I lengthened the pattern 2 inches, but I made sleeves out of the tiniest leftover bits so they were just as long as I had fabric for. This fabric is a difficult scrap - it's a rayon blend, which is almost cheeseclothy, and it hates the sewing machine, it hates being touched, but it kind of sticks to itself...anyway I tried not to touch it too much and I'm definitely not hemming it. One of the maps on the sleeve is upside down but all the body pieces are right side up!  Tetris score!

And here is the Instinc-Tee. It is size XS and I have shortened the pattern somewhat.

This counts as one of my TNT patterns.  I had enough flowers left over to do it! I've found it works really nicely under scrubs. 

As I was photographing this with my Dawn jeans I realised I've just hit the epitome of sewing:  I've mastered jeans and tshirts.  I basically never need to buy anything again. (Hah! As if.)

Until the next tshirt binge!

Secondo Piano InstincTee - free pattern

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!