My new favorite tee ~ Jalie 2805

I actually made something for myself! Can you believe it?  It seems I get sucked into making kids clothes more and more and less things for me.  I need to change that.

Wednesday K had dance "in town" which allowed T and I to meander around for an hour until she was done.  T just had to go to the fabric store.... LOL, kidding.  It is probably an 11 year old boy's least favorite store.  Anyway I conned him into going in with me.

I found a few cute knits on a table in the back for only $3.99/yard.  They had a truck bring them in I guess, leftovers from some warehouse.  T actually did pick out a really cute stripe and a very soft blue.  I picked out a gray/blue stripe but it ended up not being enough yardage for the maxi dress I wanted.  So I ended up with a yard of this amazing, soft, drapey, wild knit.

I love it to pieces! I'm not even sure why.  This is so not me and really wild when I usually wear plain. It is a mystery knit but I think it has some rayon in it.  It is super duper soft and has a bit of a sheen to it, just a bit.  I would say it has about 50% stretch to it.  I knew right away that I wanted to make Jalie 2805 with it.  The shirt only used 3/4 of the yard. Yay for a $3 shirt that I LOVE!

My measurements are 36-29-42 (yikes I put that on here).  This puts me in sizes U (8), T (7), and X (11). However, since the fit was super tight on K I went a bit larger with my size.  I ended up tracing out a V (9) for the top and waist and sloping out to a W (10) for the hips.

I went with View A, cap sleeve, normal neck.  I made the binding an inch shorter than the pattern stated because it was a bit loose with K's second shirt.  I actually sewed both shoulders and attached the neck binding in the round using this tutorial.  I used twill tape in shoulder seams to add strength.  Then I sewed both sleeves in and side seams.  I sewed a small zig-zag over the serging in the armpits to reinforce them.  I used a double needle for the bottom hem with wonder tape.  For the cap sleeve hem I used wonder tape and 1/4" fold once with a single needle sewn hem.

Changes I will make for next time:
* Size down to U(8) in bust as I measure, taper in on the waist to a size T (7) and then slope out to a W (10) for the hips.
* Slant out an inch of the back neckline like in this tutorial to remove the back neck gaping.
* Make cap sleeves 1/2" longer so I can fold them up 1/2" and use a double needle hem.

I absolutely love this shirt. It is very comfortable and I've been wearing it a lot since making it Friday.  The cap sleeves are just a tad too short for me and the back neck gapes a little; however, most my RTW shirts gape in the back neck. The shirt is loose on me especially under the bust and through the waist but it is nice to have a loose shirt - not all of mine have to be slim fitting.  I should probably address the swayback issue and pooling in the back because of it but I just don't mind it.  Even with these things I love it, love it, love it!  I can't wait to make some more as well as some in the different variations!

~ Happy Sewing! ~ Kristin ~