About Me

My photo
Los Olivos, California, United States
You can reach me at fool4fabric (at) gmail (dot) com

Monday, April 16, 2012

Goldilocks and the Three Tees

Once upon a time...

My decision, earlier this year, to dress in more body-conscious clothing has had an interesting effect on my sewing; after at  least twenty years of making looser, more "floaty" items, I am having to learn all over again how to fit my clothing. I thought it might just involve using a smaller size, or taking bigger seams, or putting in more darts. It has turned out to be a little more complicated. For instance, in making a simple tee, I used to choose a pattern whose measurements corresponded pretty much to mine; my biggest concern was if I needed to add a little in the hips, otherwise the tee was simple, straight and easy-to-sew. Last week I set out to make a more fitted tee, and my results
reminded me of Goldilocks...

The first tee, from KS2740, I made from a pretty tie-dyed knit I got on eBay. It's

either cotton or modal, with very little stretch. I made View C, but with long sleeves.



It's OK...I would have been happy with this in the past, and I will wear this. But,
for my current purposes, it's TOO BIG.

So then I tried another pattern, KS3338, which I've had and used for a long time.
I made this up yesterday in a black/white striped jersey, I'm not sure of the fabric, either cotton or rayon with a substantial amount of stretch. I really liked it until I tried it on....TOO SMALL!



So today, I was determined to find the one that was JUST RIGHT...and I think I did

I retraced the pattern, going for about halfway between sizes, and I think it worked.

I like the looks of the black and white stripe so much, and it is so perfect in my wardrobe, that I ordered more fabric to make another, better fitting one. After messing up the neckband on tee #1, following the pattern directions, I used the very popular Sarah Veblen tutorial for making knit neckbands, and the rest all came out perfectly.

Besides the tee project, I made Vogue 8793, Katherine Tilton's "zipper neck" tee

in a whimsical rayon knit from Emma One Sock. Here's my version:

Here are more pictures of the Goldilocks tees:



Stay tuned for pictures from my fabric shopping in Los Angeles last weekend!

12 comments:

  1. The kwik sew tee looks great in the white version! And I love that stripe - glad you could get more of the fabric to make another.

    The collar on your Katherine Tilton top looks great - and that top fits pretty well, too!

    You have been busy busy. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You must be glad you stuck in there -- the results are worth it! Very attractive. It's funny how we go from oversize to realizing how flattering fit can be. I'm moving toward that now myself.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Is the striped one really too small or it just closer fitting than you are used to? I think it looks nice, but that doesn't matter if it is too tight. Just my 2 cents......

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the more fitted tees on you-and I am totally in love with the K Tilton top you made. The fabric and the relaxed fit at the neckline are really nice. I have the pattern and just need the mental space to work with it. Soon...

    ReplyDelete
  5. ElleC...it's really too small...I wore it under a jacket last weekend, but it drove me crazy, riding up and making me feel like a sausage. I do like it enough to make an identical one, only a little bigger...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm with Shams. I love the white tee, a lot and the stripe is just fantastic. they are all nice, but for some reason those two really stand out. You should never have to buy another white t-shirt!

    ReplyDelete
  7. So nice to see you in fitted tees. You did a great job of finding one that is just right! Your Katherine Tilton top is so cool - a fabulous print. This is the first version I've seen using only one fabric, and I really like it.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wondeful T's and intereting how the fit changes with each pattern.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love them all! I particularly like the stripe so I am glad you could get more fabric. Well done finding 'the fit'!

    ReplyDelete
  10. they actually all look great on you

    ReplyDelete
  11. It looks like you finally got it right in the cream Tshirt. It looks good. I also love the Katherine Tilton top. I have this pattern and plan to make it soon. Thanks for the inspiration.

    ReplyDelete