Serger/Coverstitch Tee

This is the second tee I made on my serger and coverstitch machines that I received for Christmas presents.  (You didn't miss anything - I haven't photographed the first one I made yet).  I am still getting the hang of everything, but I am pretty happy with how this turned out.

The fabric is from Gorgeous Fabrics.  The description says that it is acetate/rayon/lycra.  I didn't really know what acetate is made from, so I just looked it up.  Basically, it is made from fibers spun from wood pulp.  The fabric's hand reminds me a lot of a thick nylon knit, like J. McLaughlin's Catalina cloth.

I think I used Itch to Stitch's Arenal top pattern as a base for this.  Any basic tee pattern that fits well can be modified to 100 different necklines, sleeves, and hems.  I wanted a boatneck for this version, so I made a facing to finish the neckline.  This is the part I'm not totally happy with - somewhere along the way, I stretched out the neckline.  I think it was when I serged the facing to the body at the neckline opening.  I am still getting the hang of the serger, and it think the tension wasn't 100% where it needed to be for a smooth seam.  You can see that the neckline stands away from me a bit.  Washing and drying hasn't improved this.

So yeah, that bugs me, but I'll live with it and wear this anyway.  I could always go back and widen the whole neckline to a ballet-type neck and try again.  Or, I can wear this under a scarf of cardigan to minimize the issue.  Or, I can just make another.  I have plenty of fabric.  I am thinking of using that extra fabric for McCalls 7538 as discussed earlier, though.

Who knows?  Time will tell whether I wear this often and what I decide about that wonky neckline...

Itch to Stitch Arenal Top with lace shoulders

This is my third and final (for now) Arenal top by Itch to Stitch.  You can see my other two Arenal tops here.  It has taken me a long time to post these photos because there is some seriously weird lighting go on, and I planned to take better photos.  It hasn't happened in the past month, though, so I am just going with these.  Seriously, though, how is it both overcast and too sunny?

I used the 3/4 sleeves and standard hem on this version.  The knit fabric is from Pennie Fabrics in Sarasota and is very lightweight and drapey.  I have quite a bit more, and I'm not sure what to make with it.  Suggestions?  I am thinking of checking if I have enough for the dress pattern that I used to make my red tunic.

For this version, I used a little lavender lace I have had in my stash for eons.  I wanted to use the scalloped hem edge, but I didn't want to worry about bra strap show-through, so I just layered it on top of the standard tee.  For the knit fabric, I overlapped the front pattern piece and the front yoke pattern piece (the shoulder contrast) to make one whole front up to the shoulder.  Then, I used the yoke piece to cut my lace.  I just layered the lace on top of the knit fabric and constructed this as a regular tee.  Super simple, and it is a fun extra detail.

 I was a pattern tester for Kennis, and the links to Itch to Stitch pages in this post are affiliate.

Make a Lace-Up Top from a Plain Tee Shirt Pattern

I am quite pleased with myself about this one!  I wanted a top with a lace-up detail that isn't tedious to wear.  Here are some examples of what I'm taking about.  I decided I just wanted the look of the trendy lacing, not ones that actually function to hold the neckline together. 

I started with a plan tee shirt pattern that I like.  Mine is McCalls 6886, but any tee would do.  For the neckline, I bound the back neck edge and drafted a simple facing for the front.  I used a lightweight fusible interfacing on the front facing, attached it and understitched.  Voila!  That's it!  The last step is adding the metal grommets, which was really easy to do.

I have had the fabric in my stash for a while.  I think it was from Gorgeous Fabrics, but I'm not 100% sure.  It feels like a rayon jersey, very silky.

I tried both this silk cord and a thin leather strip for my lacing.  Both are a little stiff.  Other options would be narrow ribbon, very thin rope, or a tube of fabric.  I wore this top a LOT on my recent travels (nothing fancy, alas, just visiting family).  It is super comfy but just a little elevated from a plain tee shirt.  Now I want to make McCalls 7391 even more than before!

Itch to Stitch Idyllwild Top in Wool Blend Jersey

I kind of feel like blogging about this is cheating, but whatever.  This blog documents my handmade things, and I made this basic tee shirt.  :-)  This is the Idyllwild Top by Itch to Stitch.  The fabric is this wool blend knit from Gorgeous Fabrics.  I have made this top once before with a very different fabric and the higher neckline.  I like how different these tops are in style!

 I pre-washed my fabric, but it still shrunk up in the length a bit after washing the finished top.  I kind of wish I had done the shirttail hem I am so fond of lately, but oh well, this is a great basic that I have been wearing often.

I really like the wool blend jersey.  It's a bit see-through, so a tank is a must, but it is not scratchy at all.  It just looks like a great casual, drapey tee.  The bag shown in the first photo above is my recent Market Bag and the pants are Simplicity 1696.

Cabled Tunic from The Art of Seamless Knitting in Malabrigo Arroyo Fresco y Seco

I got quite a few new knitting books around Christmas time, and The Art of Seamless Knitting was one of them.  It looks like there is a ton of great information in this book, but so far, I have just been enjoying the beautiful patterns.

This is the Cabled Tunic pattern.  Obviously, I stopped mine at hip-length.  I was drawn to the beautiful cabled patterns, which are different on the front and back.

 I made a couple of small changes to my sweater, other than just the length.  For starters, I used a sport-weight yarn, which is quite a bit thinner than the recommended aran-weight yarn, so I adjusted stitch counts accordingly.  Second, I made the sleeves totally stockinette stitch and also added stockinette stitch panels at the sides.  I thought this yarn was just too pretty in stockinette stitch to not show off a little bit.  I also added some short rows to the back to raise the back neckline a bit.

The yarn is Malabrigo Arroyo in a deep, rich green semi-solid color called "fresco y seco," which my rudimentary Spanish tells me means "fresh and dry."  I used about 2.5 skeins.  I bought this yarn at A Good Yarn in Sarasota.  I actually started a couple of different projects with this yarn before settling on this sweater.  Nothing was quite special enough for the yarn, though.  I'm glad I didn't settle with another pattern I wasn't as happy about, because I LOVE this top.  It is a great weight for a short-sleeved sweater, and the yarn feels just fine next to my skin.  I would love to make a lightweight cardigan in this yarn, and the colors at Webs are so tempting.  I'll have to see what other colors they have in Sarasota.

McCalls 6886 shortened to a T-shirt

I bought 2 yards of this lightweight striped wool/cotton jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics.  I had a vision in my head of a striped wrap dress, but it is so lightweight that I would have had to line it, and I was concerned that the tiny stripes would be too much on a whole dress, so I decided to make a simple tee instead.  I already had McCalls 6886 out from making my recent Breton dress, so I decided to give it a go in t-shirt form.

This fabric is Heaven.  So soft and not at all scratchy, despite the wool.  It feels like the comfiest, luxurious t-shirt.  The pattern worked splendidly, too.  I made it very long and  gave it a slight shirt-tail hem.

There's not really anything left to say.  This dress pattern also makes a great little top.  I still have a bunch of this fabric left over, and I think the soft drapiness of it would lend well for another version of McCalls 7186, this one shortened to a top also, and probably sleeveless.  This is definitely McCalls week.

Knit Tops - Cover the Back Neck Seam With a Knit Strip Tutorial

That is one long, awkward post title.  I don't know what to call this thing, but here it goes:

So I mentioned while reviewing the Idyllwild Top and Dress pattern from Itch to Stitch that I wanted to try the little strip of fabric at the back neck in my ready-to-wear tops. I already had the idea percolating in my brain from reading a post by Baste + Gather about adding twill tape, and the Idyllwild pattern mentioned it also as an option.

Inspection of my purchased tops showed that they use a little strip of knit fabric all neatly folded up, so I came up with a way to do this without burning my fingers ironing those little strips.  You just need fusible tape like you could use to fix a hem in place.  Here is an example.

Start with your knit top, after attaching the neckband and pressing but before top-stitching.  Cut two lengths of fusible tape the length of your back neckline.

Fuse one piece of fusible tape the the wrong side of your lightweight knit.  Keep the paper attached on top so that the tape doesn't fuse to your iron as well.  You are just fusing one side of the tape for now.  Leave a border around the tape.

Cut around the tape, leaving 1/4 - 3/8 inch border.  Peel off the tape's paper backing.

Fold the long borders in and fuse them down.  Fold in the short ends.  These don't have anything to fuse to, but that's ok.

I used some scissors to hold those little ends down while they cooled.  Then they stayed in place just fine.

** If you are able to iron all these little hems neatly without the fusible tape (and without burning yourself), leave out the strip of tape in the above steps.  This will save a little on bulk in the finished project.  I really like the precision and folding template that the fusible tape gives me.

Fuse the second piece of fusible tape on top of all the raw edges (again leaving the paper between the tape and the iron).  Peel off the strip of paper.

Now the fun part:  Pin (don't fuse!) the entire knit strip to the back neckline, overlapping the stitching line by 1/8".  My handy scissors are pointing to the stitching line.  Stitch again right on top of that stitching to hold the strip in place.  

Iron down the strip to cover the raw seam.  It will fuse in place.  Stitch 1/8" from the bottom edge of the strip.



It will look like this on the outside.

 Now, finish top-stitching the neckline.  blending the wider stitching on the back neckline with narrower stitching around the front.  This matches my purchased ready-to-wear tees.

Voila!  A pretty detail that also keeps the back neckline from rolling out.

FYI, the links to Itch to Stitch are affiliate links.  I promise I'm not getting rich.  :-)

Itch to Stitch Idyllwild in ponte

This is my first version of Itch to Stitch's Idyllwild Top and Dress pattern.  I've been using the super out-of-print Butterick 3344 for many years as my basic tee shirt pattern. I figured it was time for an upgrade since that one is falling apart and skin-tight (in the style of 10 years ago).  I bought this pattern a while ago when it was first released for $1.  The price has gone up, but it is still a great pattern.

This pattern offers two rounded neckline options (I made the deeper one) and lots of sleeve options.  There are also options for ruching on the long sleeves and the body of the top.  My measurements put me smack dab between an XS and a S, so I just cut right in between the two sizes.  I'll size down on my next version.  I took a bit out of the side seams after putting together the body of this one, but I also think the roomier fit would be fine with a more lightweight fabric - just not this ponte.

 This is one beefy tee.  The fabric is from my beloved Pennie Fabrics in Sarasota.  In hindsight, it would have made a fab ponte dress, but I had my mind set on a tee.

I think I prefer it tucked in like this.

Here it is untucked.  Not loving that look in this fabric.  This feels like a dressier tee, not one I will throw on with my yoga pants for a 7:30 am bike ride to school.

It's funny I never know what creations will be a hit with the Hubs.  This is the most basic of basic tees, but he really liked it and noticed the contrast inside neck band :-) which brings us to...

 Probably my favorite detail of this tee is the little striped strip that I added to the back neckline.  This really elevates the whole top.  I'd had the idea in my head after reading this post, and Kennis actually does mention this step in her pattern, which is an awesome detail.  I think she suggests bias tape, but after some serious inspection of my ready-to-wear tees, I discovered they have strips of lightweight knit fabric.  I pulled this bit out of my fabric scraps and am thrilled to pieces with the result.  I photographed my process and plan to do a little tutorial about it.

Here is the view on the outside of the back.  The wider top-stitching on the back than on the front is taken straight from my ready-to-wear tees.

FYI, the links to Itch to Stitch are affiliate links.  I promise I'm not getting rich.  :-)

New Look 6808 Lace Tee

I made a lace tee shirt.  I'm so trendy!  Who knew?  

(Yes, Anthropologie is the epitome of "trendy" in my book.  I'd consider myself more of a Boden girl, stylistically, though.  UK people, do you really walk reindeer around on leashes, though?  jk... kind of)

 This is how I wore it to church.  Looking a little frumpy in this pic, though.  Oh well.  Let me take the sweater off so you can see the top...

 Voila!  The fabric is from Pennie Fabrics in Sarasota (I've been typing that a lot lately).  It's a pretty pale pink color and has 3 dimensional flowers tacked on top all over for a really lush look.  "Tacked on" isn't really the right phrase, though.  I tried to remove them from the seam allowances and they are really sewn on well.

 The pattern is New Look 6808.  I thought I'd used this pattern to make this top (which I'm totally wearing today for Halloween with an orange cardi) but I have a different pattern on that post.  Oh well.  Same shape anyway.  Like that other top, on this one I left out the vertical darts and side zip and only used the bust darts from the side seam.  I can pull this over my head without a zip.

I used the same techniques as this dress to finish the neckline with the lace border.

 I wore it with a pink cami underneath.  What do you think?  Any other ideas how to style this top?  How would you wear it?

In other styling news, I've figured out a way I really like to wear this top - jeans, cardi, and a long necklace.  I really like it like this.  Win.

Also, there is only one more day to enter the giveaway for the Marbella dress pattern.  :-)

Happy Halloween!