The Concord Tees - Hacked Edition

Honestly I've been meaning to get around to making more Concord Tees after I made my first one last spring. As with all good sewing intentions, it took awhile for me to get back to this.

I ended up making four hacked t-shirts. I pulled knits from the collection and started sewing. Well actually cutting first, the first ones were cut using the pattern I traced last spring. I really should have checked the fit before I cut them out...that's why I stopped at four.

Because of that these fit a little closer than I originally wanted. Probably because I've gained back 10 pounds. I will wear them, however it caused me to rethink what size to use for the next batch.

Let's start with these four... 
As usual I don't sew anything straight out of the pattern envelope. I mean I have a basic one and I know what the pattern can do so I decided to take it for a "hack" ride. I kinda feel like I could buy some standard loose-fitting tees but it's harder to purchase interesting tees in different fabrics that fit me.

Hacked Version #1 ~

This one is made from one of the organic cotton fabrics I bought from Organic Plus in late 2015. Instead of using the band for the neckline, I used a piece of 5/8" ruffled elastic from the collection. It was applied directly to the neckline to give it a frilly look. The sleeve band was also omitted. Instead I used a twin needle to hem the sleeve. I already own several white tees and wanted something a little different from the others.

Those are the only construction changes for this tee. However, by adding the ruffle elastic, it really drew the neckline in and gave it an elasticized look. At first I wasn't sure about this but the tee grew on me. It's worn with a new TNT rayon crepe skirt, exactly like these. I love this silhouette. It's going to be my go to outfit for summer!

A few pics...

Hacked Version #2 ~
I used a cotton/lycra blend from fabric.com for this version pulled from deep within the fabric collection. 

It came about because I saw a similar one on the street in NYC. A young lady was walking into Starbucks wearing a gray t-shirt with those bell sleeves. It reminded me of the sleeves from McCalls 7542. So I combined the Cashmerette Tee and the sleeves from View D to get this rendition.

Seriously it was as easy as that and I was thrilled with the final result. My only suggestion is that you make sure that you measure your sleeve opening and the opening of the ruffle to insure that they are the same diameter.

We photographed this with a flare denim skirt that I made last spring. I'm not quite sure I like these two pieces together. However, after taking pictures of six outfits that day, I was done with photographs. Of course, later on I found my grey sweatshirt looking TNT straight elastic waisted skirt (see the black one below). That's how I will most likely wear this tee!

Hacked Version #3 ~

This fabric is a 2 layer embroidered knit that was gifted to me about eight years ago by Karen Heenan, who blogs at By the Seat of my Pants. Y'all know I watch a little too much QVC and I saw a tee by Isaac Mizrahi that inspired this one. His version had a peplum on it but I wanted something a little looser, longer, and straighter. 

To get this look, I cut the top of the tee off at the waist curve. Then I added 17" of 54" wide fabric, gathered at the top and with a side seam. I matched the side seam and stitched down. It was only after it was hemmed that I realized it looked like a slimmer version of a Turner Dress hack.

Oh and the sleeves aren't hemmed...just serged. I haven't decided if I want them hemmed or not. Since they look okay in these pictures, I'll probably just leave them as is.

One more thing ~ because this is a gifted top, I thought I would wear a gifted piece of jewelry with it...so thanks Marcy for the bracelet! 

Pictures of the Top ~

Color Blocked Version ~
My last one is not a hack at all. I just color blocked it using a black 'n white herringbone knit & a black ponte. This is the only scoop neck version I made from this series of tees. Otherwise there is nothing special about it except for using two different fabrics.

I'm wearing this with my TNT black ponte straight skirt with an elastic waist. I've made quite a few of these skirts in several colors and fabrications. I really want a couple of made by me Tees to wear over them. Because believe it or not, I do have days when I don't want to wear a maxidress or maxi skirt.

This is the simpliest hack. It involves just pulling some fabric from your collection or scrap bin and having a go at it. I have a couple more fabric combinations in my head that I will eventually get to! Cause I had a ball sewing these up. 

Finally ~
I was really thrilled with how these turned out...so much so that I immediately traced off more pattern pieces and made dresses from the tee pattern which you saw in my previous post. I know there's been alot of interest in how I made the flutter/ruffled sleeve on the dress and the tee. So that's what's up next on the blog.

...as always more later!



    

The Concord Tee Series

I posted this picture to Instagram a couple of weeks ago.  

Then I started working with the pattern and fabric from the collection and got carried away. Seriously carried away.  I made four hacked versions of the tee using my original tee pattern. 

Next I made two t-shirt dresses with at least 3 more to come because I love a good t-shirt dress in the summer. The fabrics are stacked and ready to be cut. 

Finally, I redrew the pattern pieces using a straight size 24 to get a looser fitting tee. My original version sewn last spring is a 20 neck, 22 waist and hip. I made a couple of solid colored and a print/patterned tee using the size 24 pattern.

This is a lot of pieces sewn from one pattern. After taking pictures of the first batch of garments, I realized that I would need to write separate blog posts for each segment. One post was just too overwhelming. 

I hope you stick around for the series of posts on how I made quite a few Concord Tees for summer wearing. I've also included a new skirt that I made to go with one of the tees. And I've added instructions on how I made the flutter sleeves on the tee and the dress.

If the tees are not your thing, come back in a minute because I'm sure I will be sewing something different then!

...as always more later!

A Concord Tee & A Pinstripe Denim Skirt

Moving on and sewing more casual outfits for my new lifestyle...this outfit is about as casual as I can get!

There are two items comprising this totally me made outfit.  The denim skirt from my TNT 4 gore skirt and the Concord Tee. Yes, this is my original tee that I'm still wearing because it's that frigging amazing!

Let's talk about the Concord Tee first. I think the reason it's held up so well is because I wore it under sweaters and cardigans during the winter season. Can I state again that this is an amazing t-shirt pattern for plus size sewists that doesn't need alot of alterations which makes it perfect. For construction and information on the tee, see my original post here.

The second part of this Me Made outfit is my TNT 4 gore elastic waist skirt made in denim. I had a yard and a 1/2 of the pinstripe denim left in the collection. I'd made two little girl dresses from it and decided that the rest should be mine. This is a basic so there are no earth shattering construction details here. It is simple sewing but effective wardrobe building.

There are two great things about this skirt - one it's denim and two the pinstripe gives the fabric distinction. If I'm going to sew basics I want them to at least be special/different/unique...choose your own word to describe them.

I've worn this outfit to work and it was perfect. It wore well and made me wish that I had 5 or 6 more t-shirts and skirts combos to mix and match. I know that it will probably happen sooner rather than later because hey I have a huge fabric collection...I just need time to get there.

A few more pictures ~

Conclusion ~
I will be making this combination again. It works. It's me. It's comfortable and it fits my lifestyle now. 

...as always more later!

The Concord T-Shirt

First things first...
I was a tester for this pattern for Jenny.  I've also tested another pattern for Jenny. Why? Because I really believe in the pattern line that Jenny is developing for what I know is an under served market.  

Next, I haven't sewn a t-shirt since I was a teenager back when things fit me right out of the envelope. Mostly because I could purchase one or two since they weren't mainstays in my work wardrobe and I wore anything at hand on the weekends. Hey I was a mother with 3 small children, I was doing good getting dressed!

For my version, I used the length of View B, the neckline and sleeve length of View A and a C/D cup size. I deliberately made mine close fitting because I wanted to see if I could sew a decent looking tee that fit close to my body and didn't give away too much.

I was honestly thrilled with this tee. In some of the side shots that I sent to Jenny, she made some suggestions for future versions which I will incorporate. However, I love that the tee is close fitting in the bust area but still has ease over my abdomen and backside.

Here are a few detail shots, showing the collar, the cuffs and the top on the hanger...cause y'all know how much I love hanger shots!

I used some cotton/lycra knit from the collection for this "trial" tee that I proceeded to wear to death. I wore it under every type of sweater and jacket this winter! Here is a picture of it under the Tamarack Jacket...

So you would have thought that I would have made more right? Nope, I was waiting for the pattern release! I have a horrible time not sharing what I sew here on the blog...add that as another reason that I dislike pattern testing! I want to shout from the rooftops when something new and cool is happening. *LOL*

I have several lengths of cotton/lycra knits waiting to be made up into short sleeve versions of this tee. I've already thought of ways to incorporate it into my spring/summer wardrobe so more of them are coming to the blog!

I hope if you're a curvy or a plus-size or a thick sewist (whatever word you choose to describe yourself) that you will give the Concord t-shirt and Cashmerette patterns a try. 

If you're interested in a few others who've made up the pattern check out Gaylen's version for her daughter, Gillian's version and Jenny's round up on her blog!

...as always more later!

Deer & Doe Plaintain Top Experiment

I don't purchase the new indie patterns.  There are several reasons for that. 

1.  Most of them don't grade up to plus size ranges thus eliminating my size group. Many times I just don't feel like spending the money to size up a pattern.

2.  Most of them are for a more casual lifestyle - I sew for my work life which is considerably more conservative and tailored than these styles.

3.  I've been sewing a long time so many times I already own a pattern that's similar to one of these styles.  Finally...

4.  I really don't believe that I'm their target audience. 

But I was intrigued about this Deer & Doe Plaintain t-shirt because a new to me plus size blogger, u & mii, that I've been following (stalking) made several very pretty versions of them, that got me thinking. I printed the pattern out at work and left it on my desk. One of my co-workers saw it and wondered if it would be hard for me to make it for her...so I got this idea...make the pattern changes for her, myself and my boss. We are all different shapes and sizes and I thought it would be a really interesting exercise to see how it fits three different body types.

However, I have to tell you that after taping the pattern together it's going to be so much easier to make this top for my co-workers than for myself. I would have to totally hack this pattern apart to make it work for me...*sigh*...and I realized yet again why I don't use indie patterns.

Here are the pattern pieces taped together...

A full shot of the pattern pieces on my sewing table to show just how small these pieces are.  See all that stuff on the side?  It takes up a quarter of the table.  My pattern pieces usually take up the entire table...

Here are my co-workers who will benefit from this exercise because I've decided that there is just too much work involved in sizing this pattern up for me.

I now have even more admiration for T! I love her versions but I have absolutely no patience or time to mess with this pattern for me.  So I will make up two samples this weekend for my co-workers to try and then I'll work on the pink wool crepe dress for myself.

I'm disappointed but not very surprised that this pattern won't work for me. Whenever I see one of my plus size sistahs making one of these indie patterns work, I'm filled with awe and admiration! I'm looking at you Mary and Jenny!

So I will share the finished tees I make for my coworkers but for myself I'm moving on...

...as always more later!