For Christmas, cuz I’m weird, I wanted fabric.  These are the beautiful pieces I got.  Couple are bamboo/cotton/spandex which is wonderfully springy, I’m discovering.  {Oh, and pardon the bad pixellation, this was on my lousy camera.}

My most recent creation is made from the top right, that cheery gold foil cotton.  So here are all the puzzle pieces cut out and ready.  I have a newspaper roll-end {giant roll of blank paper – you can get them at a newspaper place for like $2} that I carefully traced the outline of the different pieces – front, back, sleeve – of a really well-fitting shirt of mine over there on the right…

So, then it was just puzzle piecing it all together.  Using a reliably-fitting shirt of my own worked GREAT.  And with different fabrics the same pattern will look slightly different.  Like this tee.  Bit of a swing to it.  Kind of harks back to some Boden tees I’ve drooled over.  {Man I love that catalog.  What bright ideas!}  However, I learned that because of it’s 100% cotton nature, it doesn’t really swing quite like something more drapey would.  So, I may slim it down at some unforeseen date.

But.  I love the print. 

I cannot help but grin when I see it in me closet {I’m genetically 3% pirate}. 

Another thing I learned is that I have not got the posture my grandmother tried to inspire in me so there is some sagging, or wrinkling on the body side by the arm seam. 

That tiny picture kind of shows the vertical-ish pull down parts.  Maybe you can’t see it here, but when I wear it, this picture below shows the location of the wrinkling extra fabric. 

Imagine that hanging on a more triangular hanger, instead of one so straight.  I’m a triangular hanger.

*Helpful hint:  use a tight zig zag to attach the collar.  About 5mm wide by 2mm long.  I have used the straight stitch in the past, but tried the zig zag on this tee and it makes it lay so much better – more like a store bought one.

Anyway, back to the vertical pulling…  If I straighten my shoulders, it disappears.  So, with my next tee I’m going to try angling the trapezius part {above your collar bone, where you get a shoulder rub} of the pattern down a 1/2″ from neck to shoulder seam, and take the arm scye, or arm pit, down a 1/2″ to compensate.  Standby.  Here are a couple of close ups of the double needle assisted hemming. 

Did you know you don’t actually need a special machine for a double needle?  You can just duct tape a little wooden dowel to the upper back right corner of your machine and slip a bobbin or spool on there.  Thank you, Ashley.  Another tip I learned from her, iron the heck out of all your seams and your finished product will look so much more professional. 

I was able to do this whole thing with just a regular sewing machine, but for Christmas I got a serger {thanks, Mom!}.  When I’m brave enough to thread that puppy, I’ll try making the next thing with a serger.