Oh, hello there! Don’t mind me, I was just enjoying the start of summer in San Francisco (in September) on a lovely fog-free evening in my new me-made t-shirt!!

I used to think that sewing was just for special occasions, but I’ve seen so many inspiring sewists (like those that participated in Me Made May) on various blogs around the interwebs who make nearly all their clothes! I love the idea that one day I could have a wardrobe that was almost entirely made by me! And with that thought in mind I endeavored to do something I hadn’t tried before – make myself a basic t-shirt.

I found a free pattern for a Scoop Top online at Skirt As Top  and thought it looked like a super cute and easy little shirt. The extra nice thing about this pattern was that the sleeves and body were cut as one piece, completely enabling me with my sleeve attachment phobia. The pattern is only currently offered as size S/M so I had to make some alterations to increase it to an XL (stay tuned for a tutorial for how to re-size a simple pattern), but other than that I did something crazy for me……I actually followed the online instructions! Whaaaa?!?!!

I had a brown burnout lightweight jersey that I’d bought from the odds and ends bin at the fabric store for about $1.99/yard that I thought would be perfect for this project. Just for shits n’ giggles, when constructing this top I decided to try out French seaming on the side seams and it worked out pretty well.

I decided to do a double seam at the hem to make it look a little more finished and to also add a little extra durability. I also sewed the entire top using the stretch settings on my sewing machine which made things go more slowly but was definitely a good move with this stretch knit.

The only wee problem I had with this shirt was with the neckline. I found that even with ironing it kinda gapes open a bit. I even tacked it down a bit at the shoulders, which helped the funny sticky-uppy thing it was doing there, but didn’t help the gaping. I was wondering if maybe the fabric stretched too much when I was ironing it before sewing??? I dunno, but I made the best of it and added a top stitch to finish it.

Look at me!!! In my first me-made t-shirt! Who knows, maybe next year I’ll have enough hand sewn items in my wardrobe to participate in Me Made May!!!! Dare I dream????

A special thanks to my guest photographer, Alxious. She’s a funny kid who makes me laugh but doesn’t tell me when I have hair in my eyes!! Get me Hair and Makeup, heads are gonna roll for this one!!!….