Sewaholic Renfrew x2 (and one is upcycled)

I got annoyed pretty quickly with how I somehow left all my me-made basics behind with this move.  I wear a uniform at work and sportswear most of the time when I'm not at work and there's no way I could have attempted me-made-may under these conditions!  The result is that I basically listed up a capsule wardrobe of basics to sew, just so I can make sure I'm always wearing something I've made myself.  Tshirts were the first on the list because I hadn't brought enough with me.

I got settled into my new place and turned my room into a sweatshop producing tshirts like never before...I've decided to categorise my blog posts by pattern and I'm actually pretty curious which of my tshirts will stand the test of time and become my favourites.

First the boring, tried, tested Renfrew.  Size 4, modification: 2" waist shortening.  I am 33-27-37 and very short waisted, 5'4".

The periwinkle fabric is a merino blend with some poly in it, and has a very small terrycloth knit inside, which does give it a bit of a variegated look, although it's not actually striped.  It's moderately warm and I snagged it at The Fabric Store to make some new Anima sleep pants.  (More on those later.)

I think the wrinkles above the bust are just because I didn't pull it down because I never notice them when I wear it!

The red top is upcycled from an XL shapeless top by one of New Zealand's real sweatshop chains, Glassons.  It was about $4 in an op-shop.  As you can see it had some gathers in the middle.  What you can't see is the ridiculous elastic neckband.  Sorry as always I forgot to take before photographs.

I have nothing to say about construction except that as always, with upcycling you have to let go just a little and it makes things more exciting.  The jersey was tissue thin and my room was cold so it got fiddly.  I used the original arm bands, just cutting them shorter to match the pattern.  The neck band is my own, and the gathered bottom is the original.  It was mostly luck that made it match up lengthwise on the front and the back, although I did try, I thought the front would be shorter.

I love both of these, as the Renfrew really is my favourite pattern ever, and these both went into immediate rotation.  Although my upcycled top might be made of older fabric that will fall apart, I was particularly in love with how it turned out.  The waist feature makes it that something different and the ancient fabric means it already feels soft and worn-in.

Two layer Renfrew

This project was growing in my head as I reflected on the clothing that I like to wear, rather than following the knee-jerk impulse to make another pretty dress.  The only problem with this plan is that the silk-viscose was originally going to be a Plaintain and a pair of ooh la leggings.  Once I cut out the leggings, I was working with scant fabric to make a double layered shirt.  I got everything done...except the sleeves.  And Mood was out of the original fabric.  Ugh.  So I went back and found a stretch silk for the sleeves that was a similar colour but I had to wait for it to come in the mail.  It is a more expensive blend with a dry harsh feel, whereas the body of the shirt is a soft and cheap viscose that I think has only a bit of silk in it.  

My adjustments for size were to shorten the waist 1".  The longer layer on the 2-layer tee was about an inch longer than that but of course didn't have the waistband on it.  I didn't do the shoulder widening that I have done in the past because I really like the fit of my first Renfrew (where I shortened it 2" and didn't widen the shoulders.)  I cut a size 4. 

This required a bit of puzzling out as I did it.  When I got to the underarm seam (which is after sewing the sleeve in the flat) I realised it had to be contiguous with the outer layer of the shirt.  So I cut the underlayer seam allowance out of the way and sewed the outer layer first.  I then sewed the underlayer and used a zig zag finish that I continued up into the sleeve a bit.  The result of this was that the under arm area is tighter than I would like.  Probably I should have used a 3/8 seam allowance to be safer (it always seems really wasteful to use a 5/8" allowance on knits!!)  That viscose of the sleeves is not as stretchy and also makes the arms a bit tighter than my other versions.

And I didn't think ahead...I made notches in the bottom front and back of the shirt!  Um, design feature!   But the biggest "design feature" deserves some mention.  I have been noticing lately how knits respond differently to different sewing machines.  My cheap machine in Switzerland wouldn't even sew a straight line in a tissue-paper fine knit.  My current cheap machine hashes my zig zag seam allowances but I just assume that's extra stability...with the fine viscose of the shirt, it had trouble sewing straight on only two layers.  So, no problem with the neckband, 4 layers, or sleevebands (as the sleeve fabric was heavier)  but a bigger issue on the sides.  I didn't pull any tension on the sides as I sewed.  I had loosened the tension previously from my usual.  Of note, this Necchi is totally messed up and I sew everything with a stitch length of 4 because anything smaller than that creates micro stitches and thread birdsnests.

So - ruching!  And it looks great!  Hurrah for unplanned improvements! (The ruching settled down a bit after washing, too - on my instagram you can see how much more there was on the side seams right after I made it.) 

Deer & Doe Plantains: birds and stripes

I was excited about this top ages ago and was even thinking of making it in Switzerland, but the onerous task of printing and cutting and taping held me back (although it wasn't terrible in the end).  When I finally made the first one, it was for a friend but whetted my appetite...so since it's my birthday and I can do whatever I want, I made two!

BIRDS!! Charley Harper birds!!!  What could be more amazing?

My coworker Alexx wanted some attention too!

Thanks to Chris the xray tech who took these nice photos. 

This is a super easy pattern to make.  It depends basically on your bust measure and is free flowing from there.  I cut a 38, which is the same as my Belladone.  (I'm 34.5, 27, 37)  I made the vireos up in a day in between working on two other projects, and did the stripes later the same week in between 13-hr shifts at work and surfing for my birthday! 

Westport, WA.  My local surf beach, and my birthday!  Best combination : )

The pattern is four pieces and comes together like basically all simple knit tee shirts: front, back, sleeves, neckline.  The amazingness of it is in the cut - dips a bit low in the front, and with this fabulous flare at the waist.  My evil Necchi did fine with the very stable knit vireos.  I sewed it up with a straight stitch and a ballpoint needle, and zigzagged to finish each seam. 

I used the recommended mid-length sleeves for the vireos, and so I lengthened it a bit on the stripes because that fell at an awkward spot for me.  I skipped the elbow patches because I don't care for them.  I made a single effort at stripe matching but cutting the stripes with the underarm at the same spot.  You can see that it just about worked.  I was disappointed in the striped version - it's so me that it feels a little too much like me circa 1996.  In fact, when I pair it with navy jeans, I think I had just about the same outfit in 1996...

I can see making this up in a sweater knit...hm...in fact...I have an idea!  You may see another Plantain soon.