T-Shirt Time! Three Plantains and a Lark Tee

Hi, sewing friends!  It’s finally time for the last of my winter sewing…and by that I mean projects I sewed during the winter, not necessarily projects that are just right for cool weather.  Spring is cold here, so I’m currently sewing sweatshirts.  I’m happy to wrap up the winter-time sewing, though.

I’m combining all these projects into one post because I have blogged both of these patterns before.  My two Plantain Tees are here.  The Lark Tees are here:  short-sleeved v-neck, short-sleeved crew neck, long-sleeved scoop neck.  Today I have three Plantain Tees, a free pattern from Deer & Doe Patterns (and my current favorite t-shirt pattern) and one crew-neck Lark Tee, a pattern from Grainline Studio.  I feel mixed about the Lark, but I keep making it because it has so many options.

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I used to think that I never wanted to sew t-shirts when they were so readily available and inexpensive, but they are a really quick and satisfying sew, a perfect project after sewing more complex or time-sensitive things (like Christmas presents).  Now I’m converted.  These were the first things I sewed after Christmas.

My t-shirt drawer needed some more options, and I found some interesting fabric for my projects.  The two star-print t-shirts (the pink and orange is a Plantain and the black and white is the Lark) are cotton/spandex knits from Cotton + Steel that I got at Pintuck & Purl.  The black and white is softer, but also attracts more hair in the washer and dryer.  The pink fades very slightly at the seams.  I really like both as I love a good star print, and they get lots of wear.

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I used some scraps from the pink and orange Plantain to add contrast elements to this sky blue Plantain.  The elbow patches are included with the pattern.

I sew them on with a very close zigzag stitch.  The fabric is one I got awhile ago for some other project that never happened, and I’m not quite sure what it is or where it’s from.  My guess is that it’s a cotton/spandex from Fabric.com, but I’m not positive.  It is sort of stiff, although it’s not uncomfortable.  I probably wouldn’t order it again, but since I can’t remember what it was or where it’s from, I’m probably safe.  😉

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The last Plantain Tee is made from a wool jersey from Fabric Mart.  It’s really soft, and I love the color.  It is thin, but not see-through.  I wear this one a lot, too (like right now, while I’m typing this!).  I found a few small holes in one arm that I tried to fix (and probably made things worse).

I have no idea if this is how the fabric came or if it’s from my washer.  They were so tiny, I probably should have just left them, but oh well.  As with all of these fabrics, I prewashed and dried them in the washer and dryer before cutting and sewing the fabric, so they are all easy care, and I don’t have to worry about shrinkage or special treatment.

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As far as construction, I don’t feel my results with a twin needle have been as durable as I would like.  The hems that I have used a twin needle on often come apart after awhile.  Since I didn’t feel like trouble-shooting that this time, I used a zigzag for all the shirts–construction seams and hems.

I don’t worry about finishing my edges (other than hemming) or think much about fine-tuning the fit on these shirts, since the knits all stretch.

I like the fit on both patterns, although the Lark is long, and I prefer the fit of the Plantain.  I sewed the Lark to the original length, because I figured if it was really too long, I could chop it off later (I actually hate going back to old projects, but let’s just pretend I would do this).  So far, it doesn’t bother me too much.  For me, the success or failure of each Lark I have made has hinged on fabric choice since I go back and forth on how much I like the silhouette of this pattern.  I have been happy with all my Plantains.

I’m really glad to have all of these in my wardrobe, adding color and options.  In the future, I would love to try the Stellan Tee, another free t-shirt pattern, from French Navy.  I bought more of the black and white star print in the hopes that I will be able to make it this summer.  Do you have a favorite t-shirt pattern?  If so, leave it in the comments.  I love new pattern ideas!

 

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Two V-Neck Grainline Lark Tees

As my husband helped me take the pictures for this post, he and I chuckled.  Another t-shirt post!  Everybody’s favorite!  Usually the plain t-shirt posts, woven and knit, don’t get much response on the blog, but I post them anyway because I think they help the community (the more information on individual patterns, the better) and they help me (I forget what I’ve done in a very short amount of time), so here we are.  Look how excited I am!  I bet you are excited now, too, right?

The good news is, while these t-shirts aren’t perfect, I’m really glad I made them.  They are good first drafts that give me the information I need to make even better versions in the future if I want to.

Pictured above:  both t-shirts almost finished–they just need hems.

This is the Lark Tee from Grainline Studio.  I chose this pattern because it was a good basic with a lot of variations (four sleeves and four necklines, all interchangeable).  I don’t usually want to take the time to hack patterns, so I liked that this had a lot of options.  I’ve made a green scoop-neck, long-sleeved version and a striped short-sleeved, crew-neck version.  I didn’t love the long-sleeved one, but that was due to my fabric choice.  The crew-neck version was better.

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So here’s what I did for this project.

I chose a size 12 for the bust and a 14 for the waist and hips, as well as the standard short sleeves (rather than the cap sleeves) to go with the v-neck front.  This is a slim, but not tight fit with some positive ease, like a good, basic t-shirt.  I chose a 100% polyester fabric from JoAnn that was gray with neon flecks for one of my shirts (I got drawn in by the neon flecks, pictured below.  So good!) and a cotton/polyester blend from Fabric Mart in white for the other.

What I should have done, but didn’t, was look at the cutting layout for the t-shirts.  I haven’t made a t-shirt in a little while, and I wasn’t thinking about how wide knits often are.  I should have folded my selvages in toward the middle like the cutting layout shows, but instead, I just folded my knits in half and layered one fabric over the other, lining up the folds so I could cut both out at the same time.  I was very proud of that move….until I realized that my gray shirt was going to be an inch shorter than I had planned because of how I had folded the fabric, and I didn’t have enough to recut it.  Oops!  As it was, I had already removed 4″ from the length of the pattern at the bottom, so the gray shirt is actually 5″ shorter than drafted, I think.

I ended up using a 3/8″ seam allowance rather than the 1/4″ called for because otherwise my needle would go off of my fabric.  I had planned to use my serger, but it’s still new to me, and I adjusted too many things at once, so it wasn’t working.  I used a jersey 80/12 needle and a 3-step zigzag with a height of 4.5 and a stitch length of 0.5 as well as using a light presser foot pressure and 100% polyester thread in the top and in the bobbin.  I did not finish my seams as suggested in the “Sewing the Knits” section of the instructions.  I don’t think that is necessary unless your knit is prone to unraveling.  I do suggest trying out your stitches on scraps of your knit before sewing your shirt.  Once you sew the stitch you think you want on a doubled up scrap of your fabric, stretch it hard in both directions.  If the stitches pop, adjust your stitch length and/or width (or which stitch you are using) and try again until the stitches don’t pop when you stretch the fabric.

I made sure to sew twill tape into my shoulder seams (you can also use clear elastic) so that they wouldn’t stretch out.  This wasn’t in the directions, but experience has taught me that this is a good idea.

I wish the instructions for installing the V neckline had been explicit about what type of stitch to use when.  A lot of knit sewing on a sewing machine requires a zigzag.  I had to guess if that was necessary or if I could get away with a straight stitch.  I used a straight stitch (and 1/4″ seam allowance) when sewing the ends of the neck binding together, as well as for the staystitching at the point of the v-neck.  When attaching the neck binding to the shirt body, I sewed with a straight stitch near where I had staystitched, but then went around the rest of the neck with my 3-step zigzag, sewing over the part I had previously sewn with a straight stitch.  You can see all the wrinkles around my neck–this doesn’t make for the smoothest seam, but I was afraid that if I used a straight stitch I would pop the stitches when I pulled it over my head (speaking from experience).  I tried to mitigate the not-so-straight edge by using a double needle to topstitch around the neckline.  It didn’t work completely, but I haven’t popped any stitches!

I also used a twin needle to topstitch on top of the shoulders for a nice look and to keep the twill tape inside from flipping around in weird directions, and I used a twin needle on my hems, pulling the thread to the back and tying it off.  I often have trouble with my twin needle hems coming loose after a while.

My v-necks are a little bit rough, but I got them in, and I’m happy with them for my first tries.  I’m trying to be patient with myself as I learn new things, although it’s not always easy!  I definitely subscribe to the idea that done is better than perfect (aka unfinished forever).  Onward!

The last thing I realized AFTER I was finished was that both fabrics are…kind of see-through.  And no, I didn’t see that coming.  I have no idea how I missed it, but these shirts definitely need skin-colored undergarments and probably a camisole underneath.  So, maybe I just made myself a few undershirts instead of regular shirts.  Oh, well!  Learning experience!

My one little “trick” that I was pretty proud of was using Steam-A-Seam 2-1/4″ for my hems.  Steam-A-Seam 2 is a sticky, double-sided, fusible strip that you can use to temporarily hold fabric in place until you press it and then sew it.  It’s a little finicky, since it can stick to your fingers, but it’s very helpful.  My only tip as far as this goes, is to make sure that you fully cover the edges of the Steam-A-Seam with your fabric and stitching.  I found that on my sleeves, once I had hemmed them and then washed the shirt, the fabric rolled back slightly, and the edges of the Steam-A-Seam scratch my arms just a little.

Even with all their issues, I’m calling these t-shirts a win because I learned a lot:  I like this v-neck silhouette and I would make it again.  I can (hopefully) avoid the mistakes I made this time on future versions.  And every t-shirt I make helps me get that much better at sewing knits.  Looking back on other knit projects, I realize that I still have a lot to master in the way of professional techniques, but since the fit on knits is so forgiving, my many “learning experience” projects don’t bother me as much as my wonky projects in woven fabrics.  I don’t have a lot of my early woven garments, but I still wear a lot of my early knit projects.

I’m hoping to sew some more t-shirts soon, this time long-sleeved ones using the free Plantain Tee pattern.  Do you have a favorite t-shirt pattern?  If so, please share!

I’m going to take next week off since Thursday is Thanksgiving in the US, so I’ll be back after that!  Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers!

 

Striped Lark Tee

I love black and white stripes for graphic impact.  It was something I never thought about until a few years ago when I bought a black and white striped shirt.  It went with so many things and brought something really cool to every outfit I paired it with.

About a year ago, I would have said that it was crazy to spend time sewing t-shirts when they can be bought so cheaply, but I think differently now.  T-shirts are quick, satisfying, and really fun.  They are the perfect project in between more difficult projects because, not only are they fun and easy, they build your wardrobe.  For all these reasons, I decided to make a black and white striped Lark Tee (pattern by Grainline Studio).

This is now my second Lark Tee (my first, a long-sleeved, scoop-neck version can be found here).  This time I went for short sleeves and a crew neck.  Here are my notes:

• notch out rather than into the seam allowances, since they are only 1/4″
• leave the shirt length as is if you plan to tuck your shirt in
• for a more standard t-shirt length, cut off 4″-4 1/2″

Because I planned to wear this shirt untucked, I cut off about 4″ using a stripe as my cutting guide, which was just right.  (For reference, I’m 5 feet, 8 1/2 inches tall.)  I tried to cut the neckband with one stripe going around the neck, but it didn’t work out well, so I switched to the neckband you see in the pictures, which I really like.

The fabric is a really nice rayon/Lycra from Pintuck & Purl.  I would say it’s somewhere in the light- to mid-weight zone, but is still fairly opaque.  It was great to work with.

Overall, I like this pattern.  Sometimes I wish there was a little more shaping on the sides, but I can always add that later.  I would really like to try a v-neck version at some point, maybe with this fabric, but we’ll see.

Do you have any favorite t-shirt patterns you want to share?  I’d love to hear about them in the comments.

Recommendations

• Bird feeders.  My family got me a pole you can attach to a railing as well as a bird feeder for Mother’s Day, and I love looking outside and watching the birds.  I think I need a hummingbird feeder that is easier to clean, though.  We have an old one, and it gets dirty quickly and is hard to clean.  Does anyone have any resources for making or buying an easy-to-clean hummingbird feeder?
• I may have mentioned this book before, but I’ve been looking through Leda Meredith’s book Northeast Foraging over breakfast most mornings.  It’s fascinating.  This year I want to try Salicornia.
• Ever since I met Heather Lewenza this spring and saw her Hannah dress in person (pattern by Victory Patterns), I can’t get it out of my head.  It might have to be a summer project…
• What if this happened every time we used “literally” when we actually meant “figuratively”?  Hahahaha!

Grainline Lark Tee in Wool/Lycra Knit

Hey, friends!  Long time, no project!  That hasn’t been intentional.  I have a bit of a backlog to share with you, so let’s get started on this week’s project, a wool/Lycra knit Lark Tee from Grainline Studio.

This is my first Grainline Studio garment since the Hemlock.  I wasn’t in love with that particular pattern (or its instructions) and so I shied away from the company as a whole, but they do have a number of pretty great-looking patterns, and people seem to love them, so I decided to dip my toe in a little bit.  And to be completely honest, I wear my Hemlock all the time for pajamas.  I guess it just goes to show that first impressions aren’t everything, and it’s worth it to wear a garment for a while before deciding if you like it or not.

This project came about because I really need a good, versatile t-shirt pattern that can become a TNT (tried-n-true) pattern for me, and after searching the interwebs for one pattern with lots of options, I found that Grainline’s Lark Tee had the largest number of options to cover all your basic t-shirt needs in one pattern.  I used to say I wouldn’t sew t-shirts when I could buy them so cheaply, but I admit to getting sucked in.  A t-shirt is a great palate cleanser between more intense projects.

I still had a good amount of my green wool/Lycra knit fabric (used in this shirt), which seemed like a good match for the pattern.  I borrowed the pattern from a friend, so that I could see if I liked it before really committing.

I chose the long-sleeved scoop neck view, tracing a 12 at the bust and grading out to a 14 at the waist and hips.  In looking at the pictures, I think I could have maybe gone down a size, but I usually err on the side of more ease rather than less.  The instructions and illustrations were very clear and easy to understand, which I really liked.  Maggie at Pintuck & Purl had told me that the shirt runs long, but I decided to keep the length so I could use it for layering (for reference, I’m 5 ft. 8.5 in.).  She has a great version of this shirt on the shop’s blog.  Reading her post is part of what finally convinced me to try it.

My initial reaction was that the shirt was…ok.  It is definitely a straight fit and not defined at the waist.  Also, this fabric might not be the awesome match I thought it was.  I have to wear it a little bit more to see what I really think, but despite my potential fabric and sizing blunders, I’m beginning to like it.  I think it could become a wardrobe staple.  I’d like to try a short-sleeved version as well as versions in other types of fabric at some point.

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***Since taking these pictures and writing my first draft of this post, I spent a day wearing this same outfit, but with the shirt tucked in and with a long cardigan over it, and I really like it.  It’s comfortable and (I think) looks good.***

I have to admit, I’m kind of excited to experiment with this pattern, and I’m glad I gave Grainline another try.  Looks like I need more knit fabric.  Darn.  😉

 

Recommendations

• I think I mentioned last time that I’ve been listening to old episodes of the Sew Forth Now podcast, so I’m making lots of discoveries, like…THE PROJECT RUNWAY NINTENDO WII GAME!  I’m not quite sure if this is hilarious or awesome (or both), but since I don’t have a Wii, maybe one of you can try it out and let me know.  🙂
• I recently met Jocelyn Love who is working to open “a nonprofit sewing center and reclaimed fabric store” in Gloucester, MA, AND they are having a sewing-themed sale on May 6 to raise money.  If you are local, you may want to donate and/or shop the sale.  Their Facebook page is here and even if you don’t have Facebook, you can see the details at this link.  I’m really interested to see what this nonprofit becomes.
• Cadbury Creme Eggs.  It’s that time of year, and Cadbury Eggs are my all-time favorite Easter candy.
• More seriously, though, to those of you who celebrate it:  Happy Easter!