Simple T-Shirt Dresses

Last summer I made quite a few dresses.  I find dresses cool and easy to wear, with a bit more style than shorts during the warm weather months.  Being short on sewing time (always) I have been trying to start with patterns I already have fitted, changing them to create a new look.  This time I started with my favorite t-shirt pattern, The Perfect T-Shirt by Pamela's Patterns.  This shirt has a bust dart which I like as well as numerous opportunities to adjust the fit.

I began with my tried-and-true pattern.

I drew a line perpendicular to the center front at the narrowest point of the waist; you can faintly see the line on the Front pattern in the above picture.  I did the same for the Back.  I retraced the patterns above the lines, adding a seam allowance.

The upper front and back are now finished.

I then worked with the pattern section that remained below the line I had drawn at the waist.  First, I added a seam allowance above the drawn line.  I determined the skirt length that I wanted and extended the center front line to that length.  I also extended the side seam to approximately the same point.  I wanted to flare the skirt but I didn't want to add all of the volume at the side seams (this creates an unbalanced silhouette and can make the side seams appear longer than the rest of the skirt).  Instead, I drew several vertical lines up to (but not through) the seam allowance at the waist, cut along these lines and spread the cuts open to achieve the desired amount of flare.  I drew in a gently curved hem (with hem allowance). When I had all of this complete, I traced a new copy of the skirt pattern.

Here's the first dress I made from my new pattern.  I considered this a muslin, but it turned out well enough that I wear it.  It's made from 4-way cotton/spandex jersey.  I bound the neckline with a similar solid fabric.

Several other dresses followed:

This one is made from a cotton/poly slubbed jersey.

Cotton tie-dye.

The next dress began its life as two XL t-shirts that I paid $2.00 each for. 

I added a braided trim around the neckline.

The braid looks more complex than it is.  I took advantage of the fact that knit jersey will roll along the cut edge.  The braid is formed from three strips of fabric cut on the cross grain.  I allowed the edges to curl in before performing a simple three-strand braid.  The two rolled edges of each strip make it appear that the braid was formed from doubled tubes.

I had one final dress in mind but it required some additional pattern work.  I wanted to add a pleat on either side of center front on the skirt.  I determined the pleat depth and cut the pattern vertically, adding in additional pattern paper to account for the pleat.

I hope this post will inspire you to use your own t-shirt pattern to create new designs with just a little bit of simple pattern work.

Patch Pocket with Bow

Several months ago, someone contacted me through my blog and asked if I could tell her how to make the pockets I had included on the Little Dresses for Africa I made in 2011.

It took some digging but I finally found the pattern piece and instructions.  I thought I'd write a tutorial on how to make this cute pocket.  I hope you find lots of ways to use it (and I hope the original inquirer sees these instructions!)  You can find the tutorial here and in my Tutorial section (link to the far right).

Slanted Pocket for a Princess-Line Garment

Hello friends.  My, it's been a long time.  I have missed my blog so much, and I'm hoping that I can get back into posting on a somewhat regular basis.  I find such little time to "make" these days; raising a young family is time consuming.  But I'm going to try my best to post more than I have in the last two years (that shouldn't be too hard).

I developed the instructions for adding a pocket to a princess-line garment many years ago after sewing a commercial pattern with a similar pocket, and I prefer this pocket design over any other on garments with this style line as it adds very little bulk. You can use this pocket on dresses, tops or jackets.

Last summer (or was it the summer before?) I hand sewed an Alabama Chanin-inspired dress, adding this pocket.  I also added a hand-pleated ruffle at the top of the pocket and around the neckline to add a little interest to the otherwise basic garment.  You can find the instructions for the Pleated Ruffle on page 109 of Alabama Chanin's book, Alabama Studio Sewing + Design.

Detailed instructions for drafting the pocket can be found here, in the Tutorials section of my blog. 

Tabula Rasa Jacket, Take One

I have been wanting to make this Tabula Rasa jacket pattern for such a long time.  So many of my friends have turned out version after version of this wonderfully-drafted, casual fit jacket (with a fabulous square armhole!).  Plus, I really love the gals who designed this jacket and who have come up with so many variations that it never looks like the same jacket twice.  Rae Cumbie and Carrie Emerson are the gals behind Fit for Art Patterns, the independent pattern company that produced the Tabula Rasa Jacket and variations, plus several other patterns.  Not only have they designed a stylish jacket with exceptionally good instructions, they also provide fitting services through their booth at the sewing expos they frequent.  When I purchased my pattern at one of these shows I was able to try on a muslin version of the jacket to determine the correct size.  Then Rae offered other suggestions for me to try (move the shoulder line forward 1/2-inch, shorten the hem lenght 1", etc.).  This gave me enough confidence to cut out my first jacket from some good (though not precious) fabric.

I chose a brown silk noil which has been in my stash for years.  I knew that the fabric would need some help to keep the jacket from looking flat and boring.  I decided that the band and optional cuffs would be the perfect place to add a little embellishment.  I love hand stitching and decided to pull out my sashiko stencils and return to a technique I learned years ago from Nancy Shriber.  I traced the design onto a layer of flannel that I then used to underline the various pieces. 

The thread I chose is a beautiful, hand-dyed perle cotton with a wide range of colors from cream through camel to dark brown, with some pink specks and even occasionally some aqua.  As many of you know, I like a very tone-on-tone look and this project is no exception.  In fact, this stitching is extremely subtle, even for me. 

I also decided to stitch the same design on the side panels, and used the same thread to saddle stitch the hems and around the bands and cuffs.

I am very pleased with how this jacket turned out and have another planned using a lovely kimono panel I bought at a sewing expo last fall.  I think this versatile pattern will see a lot of use from me.

Dressy to Casual: A Challenge

Sarah Veblen is one of my very favorite teachers.  She recently began offering a series of challenges designed to spark creativity in garment making.  The first such challenge asked the participant to find inspiration in one of the photos in Sarah's Dressy Dresses Gallery and use that inspiration to create a casual garment.

I thought this sounded like a great way to jump start some garment sewing for myself so I decided to sign up.  What could be more quintessentially casual than a t-shirt?

The inspiration for this casual tee came from pictures 1-7 of Sarah’s gallery.  Additional inspiration came from one of Sarah’s garments that I loved from the first Knits Class I took with her that used a sheer lace with a knit fabric.

I worked with two chocolate brown fashion fabrics, one an embroidered point d’esprit stretch lace that I bought at Metro Fabrics in NYC and a bamboo knit purchased from Vogue Fabrics.  I added the additional personal challenge to only use items that were already in my stash for this project.

I began with a tried-and-true tee shirt pattern with a bust dart and drew in a style line for the “yoke” portion on the front and back.  I decided on a long sleeve and cut them on the cross grain so I could take advantage of the lace fabric’s selvage for the hem.  After much consideration I decided to underline the yoke portion with a flesh colored 4-way stretch knit.  I thought this would add some stability to the very fragile fabric, simplify construction and allow me to wear a conventional bra with the top.  At first I wanted to leave the sleeves unlined but in the end warmth won out over allure.

I feared that the top would be boring without a little something extra so I opted for some piping along the yoke seam made from stretch panne velvet.  I constructed the piping with cording which I later removed once the piping was applied.  In the end I hand tacked the piping from the inside to keep it flat against the garment.  I also used the same stretch velvet to bind the neckline.

I’m pleased with the final result, am happy that the challenge gave my creativity a little kick start and got me sewing for myself again.  I am looking forward to the next one and I really hope some of you out there will join me.