The Tee Journey is Over!!!

What a long, strange trip it has been, as Jerry Garcia once sang! The third tee pattern is the one that was the easiest to fit and with the least effort but that really is because I decided to change my technique. The  first two could have been easier as well or at least the second one.  You will understand as we go  along. I did make fit changes to this pattern as well.  Out of the three, Simplicity S9226, will be my go to. As I go through my review you will see why. 

Pattern:

This is Simplicity S9226. Looks like a pretty basic tee with two sleeve and neckline options. Remember, there is no description on the pattern envelope any more of the design. If you look on the back of the envelope at the line drawings, you will see there is a jewel neck version and one with a turtleneck sort of collar. 

I never read the notions list. I figured thread and a bit of interfacing  to stabilize my neck and hems were all I needed. But you must now be very careful about reading the back of the envelope and the needed notions when buying the SD Simplicity patterns. This top needs a zipper!!!  Do you see one in the line drawings? While I had just ripped out a perfectly good invisible 7 inch zip from a toss, did I really want a zipper in my tee? NO, emphatically said! I measured my head, too close a call. I decided to put in a slit and tiny button instead. Watch those new Simplicity envelopes closely, sewing friends!!!

• I had to contort myself to take the pic with my remote of the back. The slit actually hangs nice and straight as does the back. No swayback needed. 

Next was picking out the correct size. We are getting into True Confessions territory here or just TMI.  I am the first to admit that I am not an expert or seriously experienced knit sewist. I love to tailor. I love  natural wovens, linens, wools, et al. I have cut my teeth on those fabrics and their construction and fitting. I love wearing woven clothing, rumply linens and tailored coats. I just don't do knits often at all so that means I don't know that much. Now this is where I am going to really confess. 

Having sewn mostly tailored wovens most of my decades and for roughly the first half of my sewing life not getting that great a fit, I was all ears when any fitting guru came along and I would jump on any bandwagon. My petite hourglass was hard to fit. Every pattern was one of two choices. Do I want to swim in it or have a tight bust which would only emphasize something I did not want to emphasize.?  I am going to tell you my current measurements only because it makes my point here very clearly. Before I went into Tee #3, I took very thorough measurements. It had been a while and I knew I had lost a bit of weight recently as well. Pre-menopausal this fitting issue was an even bigger problem than  currently but there is still the strong contrast and I still want a decent fit. 

Upper Bust-----29.5 inches

Full Bust--------34 inches

Under bust-----28  inches

Waist------------26.5  inches

Hip at fullest---36  inches

I always bought patterns by my bust and they were always floating on me at my neckline, shoulders, back, etc etc etc.  Then I tried buying by upper bust, well that size didn't quite exist so I just used the smallest size and added space at the side seams as I had no idea what an FBA was. After trying numerous fit gurus and methods,  Nancy Zieman entered my life. Her method of taking into account my narrow torso and what was at that time and even smaller waist and larger bust  and then accommodating my "other" issues worked and it totally changed my sewing life. From that day forward I learned how to achieve decent fit with all those wovens I loved to sew.  Wow! It made sewing so much more enjoyable and I was finally happy with my fit results.  Now, knits come down the pike. 

I just really didn't care for them that much. I didn't like wearing snug clothing, and unless they were a real sweater knit, they just did not interest me so I did not bother going to Stretch and Sew when my friends did. I never learned much about them. That was way back when and now that has changed. Knits have changed. I see beautiful textiles with digital prints and I want to wear them. I want to enjoy sewing them but also wearing them the way I like, skimming my body, not tight. What I have made with Zieman's methods just is not the best way. It was lots of work and did not give me the fit I wanted.  With Tee #3 I did not use her methods and I am really pleased with the results. I found the size 12 to be my exact measurements. Wha???? But I have been using a size 6 for years with Zieman's method. I decided then and there I would use the size 12 for any future knits.  I did do my usual petiting on upper bust, back and sleeves but liked the length of the top and left that alone. I also shortened the long sleeves to a 3/4 length, my always choice.  Hmmm,,,, once it was cut it looked freakin' huge. Did I make a big mistake?

I sewed the shoulder seams together, pin fitted it and stood in front of the mirror. The shoulders were hanging way off of mine. Other than that, IT FIT! and rather nicely, too. I thought it might need a very small swayback but decided to let that go until I saw the final tee and would fix that on a future shirt if needed. I also did not want to just hack off the shoulders and mess with armscye size and shape.  I opened out the top flat on the table, took my pattern and with all due respect to Zieman, was able to do a pivot and slide of 3/4 inches on each shoulder and therefore not change the size of the armscye at all. Yay! When the top was done and pics taken I could see that the reduction in shoulder seam made the sleeve cap work a bit harder to reach the seam so I will extend that a bit on the next effort. The diagonal lines in the sleeves, while not bad, are the result of the cap pulling hard to reach that shoulder seam. 

I really like these sleeves. They are the best fitting knit sleeves I've ever had. NO bicep adjustments, Yay! 

I did do one further fit adjustment I haven't done before and that is because I noticed it in my photos from this tee project. My shoulders seem to be sloping more with age and/or gravity. I did a 1/4 inch sloping shoulder adjustment as well for the first time. I am really happy with the fit of the size 12 knit. This bit of education has made me rethink pattern #2 and try again in a re-cut size 12! Sewing is a lifelong journey of learning. That is why it is such an exciting occupation.  For those who may be reading this and are newer sewists, you will always be learning if you are going to be a lifelong sewist and/or a sewist who wants to sew well.  It is a satisfying and even fun journey. If admitting that your way is the only way or that somehow patterns are the problem or that there is only one way to do things this is not the pastime for you and much frustration lies in your path. Be open. Always be learning. Always be open to correction and new methods. 

Fabric:

This fabric is a blend of 65% Modal, a form of viscose and 35% polyester. It is thin but not see through and has a very liquid-y drape. It is a tiny rib knit that you can see in the pic below which gives a better sense of scale. Nothing curled when I cut it and when I fused fusible tricot to the hems and neckline with pinked edges nothing showed thru. It was very easy to sew and topstitch.  It had no name and I got it at Joanns. 

Construction:

This was really easy to sew but I did not follow directions. I chose to follow more contemporary knit sewing strategy. 

*Fuse tricot interfacing to shoulder seams, neckline, back slit,  sleeve hems and bottom hem.

*Sew shoulder seams

*Apply neck band

*Sew sleeves in flat

*Sew up side seams and sleeves as one 

* Sew hems

*Hand finish button and loop

I serged all the seams together after stitching on the machine. I used a simple straight stitch stretching lightly as I sewed. I did various stitch samples before sewing my top this way. 

Once again, I used Sara Veblen's method for inserting the neck band. Because the top required a zipper and I wasn't going to use one I serged the edges and pressed open the center back seam. I fused the top 5 inches with fusible tricot and left that open as a slit. I decided to close it with a little button at the top. But what about the neck band?

Veblen's method has you trial stretch/measure your neckband to get the correct length. No measuring! For this band I folded back 3/4 of an inch of band into itself. Then I used that folded edge as my start of the neckband. I then only measured to the center front. I doubled the unfolded neckband to get the proper amount need for a band that would have both ends of the neckband folded in on itself that 3/4 inch.  I then inserted it right on top of the folded edge of the slit. It worked fine. When it was all done I hand stitched the tiny button on and used perle cotton to make my button loop on the other side.  

The hems were stitched one 1/8th inch from the edge and then again 1 inch above that. No rippling at all. 

In Conclusion:

This has been one crazy journey, at time frustrating but in the end I have learned so much. I have learned to never take the final word on anything in sewing, once again! I have some great fitting knowledge in my tool kit now for knits.  I am humbled by the simplicity of the cure to my problem. I am appreciative, more than you know, for having  readers put up with such a struggle in all its details, more than you  really wanted to know.  If you have learned anything on this trip I hope it is that sewing is such a wonderful journey and like all trips, there are unexpected obstacles and problems to be solved along the way. We must be open to that and always be looking for our next learning opportunity. I see so so so much blame thrown around when garments don't work. Yes, these new SD Simplicity patterns have their weaknesses and I am not happy about them but I am the  first to admit that I needed to try something new to make them and any other knit pattern work better for me. I accept that. Thanks for coming along on this journey. And as Jerry Garcia also famously said, I am gonna keep on "....truckin'...".......................Bunny