Block Tee 02 (new drafting)

Pattern/Technique: Block Tee (new drafting) in size 22 by Paper Theory Patterns

Modifications: None, though slightly winged it on the sleeve & bottom hems. Sleeve hem: folded 1/2” then 1 1/2”. Bottom hem: folded 1/2” then 1 3/4”.

Materials: 1.5 yds of grey striped cotton shirting from Joann Fabrics

New skills: n/a

Lessons: I tried something new where I batch cut a bunch of projects before starting to sew, and I think that’s a really good workflow change for me because I find cutting to be pretty mentally draining due to pattern tetris and maneuvering fabric around my cutting table.

What I'd do differently: After reading the description of the collar, I suspect I may have done the bound collar incorrectly on both Block tees I’ve made. Next time I make this I want to look at some more finished garment photos & look up a tutorial to verify.

I feel like my right angle seams on the sleeve insertion were better executed on my last Block tee, so next time I want to be more careful about measuring and clipping the seam allowances.

I don’t love the fit with this fabric. The stiffness of the cotton shirting paired with the oversized fit is causing some collapsing around the shoulders and underarms, while the bottom hem is flaring out. Interestingly, I compared the finished dimensions of the Block tee with the Seamwork Bo top and the Bo is actually wider than the Block across the bottom hem and arms, but because I made the Bo in a fabric with some drape the overall fit looks a lot nicer. Might be worth retrying it in a linen/rayon blend.

Care: Machine wash cold, lay flat to dry.

Epilogue: (May 13, 2023) I haven’t been reaching for this shirt to wear at all due to the drape/fit issues caused by the stiffness of this fabric. I pulled it out of rotation and plan on reclaiming the fabric for small projects.

Ninni Culottes 03

Pattern/Technique: Ninni Culottes by Named, size 50

Modifications: No mods. Used the Zanzibar pocket tutorial (see last Ninni post) that I saved to my Drive (Resources folder).

Used 1 1/4” woven non-roll elastic, cut to 37” with 1” overlap to get a 36” waistband. Added zigzag (2.1W and 2.0L) topstitching at 1/2” from top & bottom of waistband, which resulted in a final circumference of 38”.

Materials: 2.75 yds (44” wide) Ruby Star Warp & Weft Holiday.

New skills: n/a

Lessons: Add bartacks on the edge of pockets after sewing the pocket pieces together. The bartacks will make it hard to get your needle all the way to the edge of the pocket.

I used Wondertape to baste each of the pocket pieces in place on the outside seam which worked great; I was also extra careful to position the tape at the very edge of the flat pocket piece so that the adhesive would be in the seam allowance and wouldn’t make my needle gummy.

On this set of Ninnis I serged the edges of the outside leg pieces before attaching the pocket pieces, and in the future I’ll also serge the flat edge of the pocket pieces too before attachment. (I had a small mishap trying to serge the attached pockets where I serged into the pants fabric itself and had to rip out a small section.)

What I'd do differently: Because the wrong side of the fabric has a lot of floats, I’m a little concerned about these wearing/breaking from friction in the crotch. I didn’t add a lining at this time, but I may add one in the future if this becomes an issue.

I also tried styling a matching set with the Seamwork Bo top (last slide in gallery) and I don’t think the small pattern quite works. I’d love to try again with a larger print pattern.

Care: Machine wash cold, dry flat.