The perfect tee

I do love Maria Denmark's Kimono Tee. I've used this pattern four times already and I don't think I'm going to stop here. It's easy and quick sew even if you decide to finish the neckband by hand! Other than my initial 5cm FBA I didn't change anything else. There is nothing much to say I guess. Kimono Tee is well drafted and nice and easy introduction to sewing with knits.

I used lovely rayon knit that I bought from The Fabric Warehouse fabric sale last year. It's drapey, quite lightweight and very pretty. I still have 3 meters or so left so you will see it again sooner or later ;) I'm thinking long sleeved dress so I can wear it during the winter. It's starting to get cold here and I don't like it one bit! On the other hand my sewjo is back and I spent most of the day today cutting fabric and planning some winter sewing including a coat. I have chosen the pattern, I have the fabric, interfacing and notions. Things left to do is tracing the pattern and sewing a muslin which is not a very exciting task... But I guess if I want my coat to be nice I really can't skip this step...

Dress of a million seams

And I'm not even joking about the number of seams! Just look at the technical drawing ;) Melissa dress is super lovely and has many interesting design features (just check out those little pockets!) I was one of the testers for this pattern last year and I've been meaning to give it another go.

I made a huge mistake with my fabric choice... Poly-rayon suiting looked alright and had nice drape but frayed like crazy! It has also absolutely no give and I was too afraid of clipping it around the curves. All the seams are finished with a combination of black and mint bias tape which added a huge amount of extra work but super tidy finish. My poly-rayon wasn't easy to press either, there was a very fine line between pressing and melting the fabric.

As for the dress itself - the back V insert is a great opportunity to use scraps of lace or "statement" fabrics. I used some black lace generously given to me by Sandra. As for the fit - I chose size 40 with D-cup and there was no need for FBA :D  The first time I made Melissa I didn't change anything and the waistline was way too low. This time I moved it up by 7 cm (I think) and it's a too high! The other change I made was getting rid of a top V pocket. I almost always have to adjust shoulder line and scoop out a bit of the top of the shoulder princess seam and that pocket would make the fitting quite hard. And there was just one more change - I made my dress sleeveless. I couldn't face dealing with more bias bound seams! The collar took three tries to get it right - including me sewing the collar inside out *facepalm* By that time I was a bit over and the dress ended in a naughty corner for a few weeks.

When I got over the collar, the rest went nice and easy. I used black buttons with gold metal ring and I like the way they look. Overall I like the dress but I'm not crazy about it. Lower waistline and different fabric would make a huge difference and I suspect I might give this pattern another try ;)

 

Simple T-shirts (and the patterns are free!)

Who doesn't like free patterns? I surely do! First top is Kimono Tee from Maria Denmark - free when subscribed to her newsletter. It is a very simple, two-piece pattern. The only thing I changed was doing an FBA and then removing the dart using this tutorial. I used some kind of viscose blend knit fabric I got from The Fabric Store. Sewing was a breeze - four seams, hems finished with twin needle, the neckline finished with a neckband. I really like this top and the pattern itself! I've been wearing it at least once a week since I made it in August :)

This one is a free pattern from Grainline Studio - Hemlock Tee. Same deal - you need to subscribe to a newsletter to get the pattern. Hemlock comes in one size only (42" bust) and it is supposed to be a boxy, oversized tshirt. I took the sides in to make it a closer-fitting top. All edges are finished with a twin needle. I used some mystery gold/ivory striped knit - one of my scores from The Fabric Warehouse sale 2 years ago - I love their sales!!!