The plain white tee

Hey hey! How’s your Sunday going? We’ve had a bit of a whirlwind week entertaining both sets of parents. They all arrived last Friday and in that time we’ve been whale watching, walked the meadows of Mount Rainier, seen the eclipse and been on a float plane flight around the city. It’s been lovely to catch up, but man, was it tiring!? The other bit of news is that I am now legally able to work in the US! My work permit came through this week, so the job hunt starts tomorrow. Wish me luck, and if you know anyone in Seattle who’d love an internal comms bod in their business, send ’em my way.

In the meadows on Mount Rainier with my mum. Felt like we were in Heidi or something.

Anyway, sewing! This week I’ve taken a break from making girly dresses in fabulous prints in favour of making something a bit more basic. And you can’t get more basic than a plain white t-shirt. One of the paper patterns I brought with me to the US was the Tilly and the Buttons Agnes top. With its close-fitting cut, it struck me as a good potential layering piece, but also a nice way to show off some pretty fabric. I’ve never been entirely happy about sewing with knits (I blame my experience with my first Moneta), but I want to improve.

The Agnes is a close fit, and it’s reminded me that I need a better, smoother bra. There’s a reason you’re not going to see a full shot of my back…

It’s a good job I was up for a challenge because the pattern calls for a lighter jersey than I’ve been used to sewing with. Thinking that I’d be able to see my mistakes more clearly I opted for a plain, off-white bamboo jersey from Harts Fabrics and I was pretty pleased with my choice. It’s silky and soft, and you can tell that the quality is there. I like it, but my sewing machine did not. I tested out my zigzag stitching on a scrap before committing to the pattern pieces – I think I got maybe six zigzags out of a six-inch line. I couldn’t be bothered to go out and get more needles, so I decided to have a go at sewing it on my overlocker – another first for me. It just needed to be topstitched with a twin needle.

And do you know what? It was pretty easy! There were a few fiddly bits to manage with the overlocker, but apart from that I didn’t have any issues. I hand basted the stabilising ribbon at the shoulder so I didn’t accidentally overlock my pins, and I did the same with the neckband. I spent ages pinning and basting the neckline before overlocking – the neck band is 10% smaller than the neckline and I wanted to make sure that it was even and wrinkle-free. It’s a tiny bit wrinkly at the back but not enough to be really noticeable.

Things to improve for next time: wonky twin-needle topstitching. But otherwise, I’m pretty pleased with that effort.

I graded from a size 4 at the bust and waist to a 6 at the hips. From my measurements I should be a size 7 hip in Tilly’s patterns, but I know from experience this is a little bit too roomy – I’m pretty pleased with the fit as is. If I’m being picky I could maybe stand a little bit more space around the arms but that’s what stretchy fabric is for, eh?

Now that I’ve had a go and didn’t mess it up, I want to make more! It’ll be a useful long-sleeved top for cooler weather and with plenty of pretty jersey around, who am I to refuse?!