A wide range of Tees & Tanks & various experiments

After a crazy move and 3 months of semi nomadic living, the sewing room was up and ready and....overwhelm!  Where to start?  I kicked it off with a simple tee binge. 

 

Patterns 4 Pirates tulip tee - tulip in front 

My friend who was pregnant is now breastfeeding so I thought I would make this for her. I actually think this top is much nicer with the tulip in front rather than in the back. In the back it pulled funny but these are lovely!

Glacial tee 

Oops I forgot to check the neck binding and it is too floppy. I think in future I will make it skinnier as well. This is fine, but the binding bothers me a lot so it might get passed on.  (Done- and my friend LOVES it.)

 

Merlo tee in very very sticky viscose 

Don't rock climb and then sew? I decided to do up this top in a single colour because I thought the tee would be amazing and I really just didn't like the way any of my scraps matched up.  But this very drapey heavy viscose is a pain to sew and caught on my freshly post rock climbing fingers and was not fun.  I used some double sided sticky iron on tape for the hem which saved my sanity, and made coverstitching very pleasant!  However, the bands on the sleeves were ridiculous, turning it into a weirdly elbow length top, so I eventually sucked it up and removed the middle bits and put the bands back on. I will see if a less drapey fabric is tighter and shorter - it's nice to have a lot of ways to colourblock, but also overwhelming. 

Another feature of this fabric I've noticed when wearing is that I feel like it would be better suited to a curvier person.  Or this fabric really needs to be tight.  I might wear it more in the later spring and summer with a sports bra but there's a high chance it will be flying to a new home.  One of my best friends has moved to Sweden and her beach-friendly wardrobe needs some upgrades, which of course I'm happy to help provide! 

Elbe Botany with ruffle 

This is a really lovely silk? Wool? blend with metal bits.  Apparently designer deadstock, from Fabric Godmother.  I wanted to hurry and make something with it before I decided it was Too Special to Touch.  This was a great match for the fabric, but the pattern is not clear that you need to cut a lot of bias tape, and so I ended up needing to scrounge that from scraps.  Not optimal, and left me with very narrow bindings.  Overall the top is great despite that, but it's very airy so I might not be taking it on my upcoming Europe trip as planned.  

Sew Liberated Strata tee in velvet 

I had a leftover piece of velvet bothering me and realised it would be a great match for the drape of the Strata tee pattern.  I didn't love the Strata in a lightweight fabric - I think it is better matched to something heavier with good drape.  Whipped this up for a friend who I thought might be cheered by something new.  The velvet was pretty painful especially around the neck binding, but the results are perfect.  

Jalie top bias cut 

Experimenting with the Jalie to see whether I could use it for woven fabrics by turning it on the bias.  The answer is sort of yes.  It fits well, but I'm not entirely happy with the fit at the armhole.  I might try lowering the armhole by 1" and see if that suits me more.  I want to eventually maybe use this for a scrap of very fancy designer silk, but I think more editions are necessary before I commit.  I have not yet adjusted my pattern pieces, but on this top each time I make it I remove about 2" from the back hem, making it less curved and also less droopy fabric catching on my bum.  

Update on this one: wore it on my trip and it is a win. The armhole doesn't bother me at all, and being on the bias it just moves with my curves.  I feel confident enough not to do more practice versions - I will be making it in the silk next. 

 

Petite Stitchery Elliot romper review

 I have been on a mission to find the just right romper/pull on onesie/almost but not quite overalls.  A key feature I wanted is super low cut armhole areas - I wanted to need a top below it.  I hate the tie on the burnside bibs and a lot of other overall type patterns use that concept with straps that adjust into a tie, so all those were out.  I also know I don't wear tucked in things ever, so the beautiful Ronja dungarees didn't go with my vision.  There are a few still floating around in my head, but then I saw this romper and thought maybe in a knit fabric it would be so cool.  I wanted a heavy-ish black knit but I didn't have one and I did have this other fabric, so despite thinking it might be a bit light to be flattering, I went forth and created.  

My measurements fit an S exactly.  I was not sure if I should make some pattern adjustments like shortening the waist, but because of the pockets it's a multi-piece endeavor and I kind of just decided this was a rough and ready muslin.  It was hot summer, which is REALLY hot in Gisborne and I really just wanted this thing to wear.   That attitude means it's not really beautiful up close - my hems for instance are just horrible. I'm not sure if I cut slightly off grain but they would not fold up straight and I gave up.

The fabric is a very spongey viscose knit from The Fabric Box in Auckland. I got it in person, because this is the kind of fabric that you buy online for the colour and you buy in person because it feels so amazing you can't let go.  I thought I would be making tops out of it and had kind of been saving it (which is also why I had an unusually large piece of yardage) but I wanted this romper and it's a bland enough colour to match lots of things.  For sure, this romper needs a top of some kind under it.  I also thought the epic drape would be an ok match for this pattern, though I did worry it is still relatively light weight and would cling in the wrong places etc.  I think in the end it would be better to use a heavier weight fabric as I'd first envisioned, giving up drape for better glide over the body.

 

The instructions are annoying photo ones, but they are sufficient and the pocket area came together ok.  It's a spot where topstitching would lead to less peeking out of the pocket, but I opted against the topstitching. 

The weight of the fabric and the length of the bodice do make the pockets hang low. My major modification is that I added swimsuit elastic - quite burly stuff - into the tops of the straps.  When this is sitting around it kind of gathers up because of that and looks bad, but it adds a lot of heft and support so the straps don't stretch out and it looks ok when worn.  Overall this is not my neatest effort.  I counteracted that with lots of labels...It has been worn quite a lot though, it's very handy around the house and can be worn with not much underneath but still covers you up.  I do a lot of pole dancing and it saves me from prancing around the house in what looks like shiny underwear when random people show up.  (Did this happen?  You will never know.)  

If I find a nice scuba type fabric I suppose I might someday be inspired to make this again in a dark colour.  I don't think it's very flattering but I rather like it anyway...primarily as at-home loungewear.  It would be nice to raise the pockets, they are distinctly low.  The rise in the front is almost a bit short - I look down and I see my belly and it's almost pulling at the crotch, but the rise in the back is long and droopy. This all makes me feel like I would actually have to redraft the entire shape of the crotch curve to fit.  I have now made three patterns by Petite Stitchery - the Finn top, the Drew pants, and this romper, and they are consistent - quite simple, no genius to the drafting, not necessarily things that give you a good finish, but forgiving knit patterns that produce things that you wear despite the finish and that are relatively easy to put together.