Last week I sewed something for my husband! I still find that to be quite astonishing.
Just to catch you up:
- I made up the Tahoe Tee by Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop,
- I made some fairly average fabric choices,
- The overall fit was great, but…
- There were some tweaks required.
So, I made a second t-shirt, using the same fabric and pattern.
The first t-shirt on the left, with the stripes had the following Pros and Cons:
Pros: body length and width good, sleeve width good.
Cons: sleeves slightly too long, neckine too wide and not stretchy enough, stripes look “weird”.
You can read the full details on the first version here.
Version 2
The Pocket
My husband declared that the stripes down the centre front of my first version of this t-shirt look “weird”, so for this version I added the included pocket. The instructions for attaching the pocket were really good and the pocket has quite a nice finish to it.
I was really pleased with how it turned out – except for the placement. I used the placement guide on the pattern, but it sits too high, if I were to include this piece again I would have to think about where exactly to put it, and it would probably have to be after trying on the finished garment. I only included the pocket because I was worried that the t-shirt would be too plain without something, but my husband says it would be fine, so next time, it will be plain, but seeing as I don’t have enough of this fabric left to make another, I will have to buy something new to make any more.
The Neckline
The neckline was the main issue with the first version of this t-shirt. As I mentioned in my previous post, I used the largest size, mainly because my fabric was not overly stretchy, so for this version, I retraced the neckline portion of the pattern, in the smallest size, and attached it to my existing pattern pieces thus:
It looks like such a small change, but it made a huge difference:
These two t-shirts are hanging on identical hangers – but you can see how much wider the first neckline was! This second version is actually just a smidgen too small – next time I will retrace the next size up instead, but this version, is at least, wearable in public.
Stitching and Stretchiness
I changed some of the stitching options between the two versions, partly to see what worked best on a practical level, but also to determine which was more aesthetically pleasing.
For the first version, I didn’t add any top stitching to the cuff.
For version 2 I stitched a wide zig zag around the cuff, holding the overlocked seam in place. I used a thread that was pretty close to the colour of the main fabric. This did change the way that the cuff sits. I actually think I like the first version better, but since my husband has requested a version without the cuff, I’ll be doing it differently next time anyway.
For Version 1 I used a darker topstitching thread, on version 2 I used thread that closely matched the colour of the main fabric, I definitely like the colour-matched thread best.
I also like the zig zag on the hem better than the stretch-straight stitch. This makes it more stretchy…
… and that definitely goes for the neckline finish too. I used the stretch-straight stich and the darker thread for the neckline on version 1.
The colour-matched thread and zig zag looks neater, and is also more stretchy too.
The Verdict, Round 2
This t-shirt is better, but still not perfect. So, I will be tweaking this pattern a little bit more:
- I’ll be looking to adjust the sleeve to a version without the cuff.
- I’ll be adjusting the neckline just a little bit more.
- I won’t be adding the pocket or any other “weird” embellishment.
I’ll be doing some browsing on Pinterest and the wider interweb for sleeve variations – I’m sure that someone else has probably already done this, and I’ll be more than happy to see what worked for others – I generally don’t like to reinvent the wheel!
I won’t be able to make any more Tahoes out of this same fabric as I don’t have enough of it left, so I’ll also have to think about whether to size down or not, depending on the stretchiness of whatever fabric I end up using.
But, I do think, that in the end, I will have a good, tried and tested pattern, with a perfect fit for my hubby!
Thanks for reading.