Drape Drape 2 - Asymmetrical Scoop Neck Tee: Pattern Review

I've been flouncing around the house today in my favourite new me-made.  I am completely in love with this Asymmetrical Scoop Neck Tee from Drape Drape 2.  Despite having borrowed the original Drape Drape book from my friend about a year ago, I hadn't got around to making anything from it yet so this was the first of Hisako Sato's pattern's that I have actually worked with.  If I'm honest I had flicked through the first book and felt a little bit intimidated by (what appeared to be) some very fiddly patterns and hadn't managed to find the time, or the enthusiasm, to tackle any of them.  

BUT.  Then I saw a picture of this tee on Instagram and impulsively bought Drape Drape 2 purely so that I could make one.  I'm really glad I did.  It was the perfect first pattern to start with.  Ridiculously simple (It's just a single pattern piece) but with some really lovely details.  I love the way the fabric drapes at the waist and I particularly like the shape of the fitted sleeve on the right side.  The left sleeve is loose and the shoulder has a lapped seam which just looks really nice.  The neckline is lovely, if a little wide - certainly not ideal for grovelling around on the floor picking up toys / shoes / bits of banana. Unless, of course, you happen to be wearing a particularly lovely (handmade?) bra that you want to show off.  But let's face it, if you're grovelling around on the floor cleaning up discarded bits of old banana no one's really going to fancy you anyway, even if you are flashing your pretty undies at them. Probably best to just save this tee for a civilised evening with friends once the kids are in bed.

One more thing I should mention about this book is the sizing.  I know it's a Japanese pattern book, but still, I can't pretend my ego wasn't slightly dented by the fact that I was measuring as a size XL when I usually wear a small or medium!  I can't help but wonder how many people have bought the book and then discovered that nothing much will fit them.... Of course you'd probably all have the sense to check things like that, rather than just buying a book of patterns on a mere whim like I did...

Still, there are at least 3 other patterns in this book that I'm dying to try and on the whole I like Drape Drape 2 much more than Drape Drape 1 - there seem to be many more wearable items in it, although to be honest several of them would still be pretty obscenely revealing if wore them like the models in the book do (i.e. without anything underneath). I think layering is going to be key...  But that's a problem for another day and in the meantime I'm going to continue crushing on my new tee and flouncing around the house.  

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Friday's Tee

I was in need of something simple today, because I've not been feeling well and I wanted to still have time this evening to sit on the sofa, eat nachos and drink wine - Because it's Friday dammit and I need a REST!

 So, today I made a Kirsten Kimono Tee from Maria Denmark.  It's a free pattern and you can find the link here. 

I'm actually really pleased with this.  It's sooo comfy and even though it's so simple I still love the style.  One thing that I hadn't anticipated was how hard it is to sew with black!  It's been a pretty grey day here so the light wasn't that great, but i just found it really hard to SEE anything!  I've never really sewn with black fabric before because until now I have mostly sewn clothes for the children and I don't tend to dress them in black.

I think this is probably the cheapest item of clothing I have ever made - pattern was free and I got about 4 metres of this fabric for $2 because it had a couple of rips in it - there was still heaps of lovely useable fabric though - I'll get another couple of tees out of it and probably some leggings too :)

Sorry about the terrible photos - I forgot to take them until it was almost dark and it was raining to boot! Still, gotta have evidence right..? 

This tee is going to be another wardrobe staple and I'm already planning to make more!

Thursday Tee (or another Tuesday Tee)

I haven't been feeling all that well today so I thought I wouldn't try to stretch myself too far. So instead of coming up with a new Tee, I went and made another Tuesday Tee. I couldn't help myself, I just love this Tee so much it's so comfy and fits really well.  I did however manage to get the pattern up for you this time.  You can find the link here.

Please note that this pattern is untested by anyone except me and is one size (small) only.  If you make this Tee I would be very grateful of any feedback so that I can improve the pattern for the next person.

For this second Tuesday Tee I sewed the Hems with a zigzag stitch instead of a twin needle. Let's say that I did this to show you that it looks just as good and not because I couldn't be bothered to fit the twin needle and wind another bobbing of lemon coloured thread! Okay?!

I also topstitched the back seam this time.  I think it looks great with the added detail.

Wednesday Tee

Another day, another Tee.  This is Wednesday's offering.  A symmetrical hem line, simple sleeves, loose fit and wide neckline that slips off the shoulder.

I'm pretty pleased with this one.  The fabric (a Gorman designer remnant) is soooo soft and so comfy that wearing this tee actually feels like wearing pyjamas!  On the down side i think the fabric is a little light weight for this style - It seems to cling a bit and doesn't quite hang properly - It was clinging a little when we took these photos (although that could just have been because I was wearing a tank top under it..) Either way, I'm pretty sure that I'm going to be wearing this one a LOT especially as the days get cooler over here on the other side of the world.

I also have a pattern for this Tee but didn't manage to get the photos taken for a tutorial so I'll add that this weekend if I can manage it.  It does mean i'll have to make another... shucks! 

It wouldn't be right not to leave you with a couple of photos of one of my cheeky little photo bombers!

Tuesday Tee

This is a lovely relaxed fit tee.  It is a dolman tee with fitted elbow length sleeves and it tapers towards the waist.  The fabric is cut on the bias and the back is blocked to make a nice seam detail across the back.

 You will need:

• 1.4m of 140cm wide knit fabric
• Matching thread
• Twin Needle (optional)
• Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat (optional)

I have used my overlocker to sew this Tee but you can easily sew this using your sewing machine.  See my ‘Beginners Guide to Sewing with Knits’ if you need more guidance. It has a lovely scooped neckline, just wide enough to fall off the shoulder occasionally but not wide enough to gape.

As before please note that this pattern is completely untested by anyone except for me and the pattern pieces are in one size only (small).  Click on the image below to download the pattern pieces.

Sewing Instructions:

Print and Cut Pattern Pieces.

Click the image above to download the pattern pieces.  When printing be sure to print at 100% or set scaling to 'None'.  There is a 1" test square on page 1 which you can measure to check that your pattern has printed at the correct size.  Pattern pieces can be printed on A4 or US letter paper.  Once printed they will need to be trimmed along the dotted lines and taped together.  Do this following the diagram on page 3 and matching notches.

Pattern pieces are to be cut on the bias.  Take your 1.4m by 1.4m piece of fabric and bring 2 diagonal corners towards each other, folding the fabric to form a triangle.  The fold will run along the longest edge of the triangle.  Place your pattern pieces on this fold, pin in place and cut (ideally with a rotary cutter and cutting mat to prevent stretching of the fabric as you cut.)

Join Back pieces:

Take the upper and lower back pieces and place right sides together, matching notches.  Pin together along the long edge and join with a 1cm seam. Press seam towards neckline.  There is no need to use a zigzag stitch here, a simple straight stitch will do as the fit here is loose.

Join Shoulders:

Lay tee front and back on top of one another, with right sides together.  Match and pin shoulder seams and then join with a 1cm seam.  Once again, straight seams will do.  Press seams towards the Tee back.

Hem Sleeves and bottom of Tee.

Press 1cm to the wrong side, then fold over again, pressing another 2cm to the wrong side.  Pin in place.  Sew hems using a twin needle or a zigzag stitch, sewing 1.5cm from the hemline.

Sew Side Seams:

With right sides together, align side and underarm seams, matching hems.  Pin in place and join, using a single seam.  Begin at the ends of the arms and sew towards the bottom hem.

Finish the neckline.

I'm afraid that the method i've used for finishing the neckline is very unscientific, which bothers me greatly - being an actual real life scientist.  I'll come up with better instructions and update this soon.  But, for the time being, cut a strip 4 cm wide and approximately 100cm long. 

With right sides together and matching raw edges, position one end of your binding approximately 5cm past the mid point of the centre back of the neckline. Join with a 1cm seam sewing right around the neckline, stretching the neck binding slightly as you go. Stop 5 - 10 cm from where you started your line of stitching.

Lay the ends of the neck binding flat and trim them so that they overlap by 2cm.

Align the ends of the binding so that the right sides are together and join with a 1cm seam.  Take care to keep the rest of the Tee out of the way of your stitches.

Press seam open, pressing binding flat against the neckline as you do.  Complete the seam that joins the binding to the neckline, sewing across the seam and the seam allowance and backstitching at the start and end of your stitches to secure them.

Press the binding to the right side.

Using a steam iron, press 0.5cm of the raw edge of the neck binding to the wrong side.  Press another 1.5cm to the wrong side and pin in place.  The neck binding should extend slightly past the seamline.  Take extra care to make sure that you have done this accurately.  You will be glad you did! Pin in place.

Working from the right side of your Tee, 'stitch in the ditch' right around the neckline.  Your stitching should be almost invisible from the front and should catch the neck binding on the back:

And that's it!  We're done.  That's 2 of 7 Tees complete and i'm already beginning to feel that i might have bitten off more than I can chew with this challenge I've set myself! Oh well, I do love a challenge, but right now I'm off to have a long, hot shower, put on my PJs and snuggle up on the sofa to watch GAME OF THRONES!!! Whoop!

Goodnight. x

Monday Tee Tutorial

I'm really pleased with this tee.  It's such a simple style, but I do love the shape.  It has a lovely neckline, dropped shoulder seams, tapered waist and perfectly cosy long sleeves.

First of all, let me please state that this pattern is untested by anyone except for me!  It is also a single size pattern, approximately size Small.  The bottom is quite tightly fitted and will fit those with a high hip measurement of approximately 92cm / 36".  The rest of the pattern is quite a relaxed fit however so if you wanted to have a go and just increase the width at the bottom a little to fit then I think it would probably work pretty well.

Download the pattern pieces by clicking on the image above. Printing Instructions can be found on page 12.

For tips on sewing with knits click here

Sorry for some of the poorly lit diagrams below - the only time I really get a chance to sew is once the kids are in bed!

You will need:

• 1.4m of knit fabric
• Coordinating Thread
• Twin needle (optional)
• Rotary cutter and mat (optional)

Monday Tee Sewing Instructions:

Hem Pieces:

Hem the sleeves and the bottom edge of the front and back pieces.  Fold 1cm to the wrong side and press.  Fold another 1.5cm to the wrong side and press again.  Pin in place.  Stitch the hem with a zig-zag stitch or with a twin needle, sewing 1.2cm from the edge. 

 Join the front and back:

Lay the Tee main front and back pieces on top of one another, with right sides together and align shoulder seams.  Join with a 1cm seam.  Press seam open, or if you have serged your seam, press it towards the back of the Tee.

Join the sleeves:

Pin sleeves in place, placing sleeve and body of tee right sides together and aligning centre notches of sleeves with shoulder seams.  Join with a 1cm seam. Repeat to join second sleeve.

Sew Underarm Seams:

Fold tee so that right sides are together and join the underarms and sleeves in one long continuous seam.  Pin in place first and make sure that the wrists, hem and underarm seams all match.  Begin stitching at the wrists and sew towards the bottom hem. 

Finish Neckline.

To finish the neckline, cut a piece 67cm long and 4cm wide.  Fold along it’s width, aligning short edges and placing right sides together. Join the ends with a 1cm seam. Press seam open.

Fold the neck binding in half along it’s length this time with wrong sides together. Press.

Pin the neck binding to the neck of the Tee, right sides together and placing the seam of the binding at the centre back of the neck.  You will need to stretch the neck binding slightly as you pin to make it fit.  This helps the neckline to sit nicely without puckering.

Join (sew or serge) the binding to the neck of the tee, sewing with a 1 cm seam.  Fold binding over to the right side and press. 

And you're finished!

I hope you have had fun with this tutorial and that you love this tee as much as I do.  Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions - I always love to hear from you!

A Week of Tees

So the birthday presents are finally all made - having taken waaay longer than I expected they would, and before I turn my attention to the gorgeous stack of fabrics sitting patiently in my cupboard, just crying out to be turned into Geranium Dresses, Junebug Dresses and Gumnut Dresses, I am going to do something for myself.  Something just for me.  

My wardrobe is pitifully depleated of T-shirts and I have a huge stack of lovely knits begging to be used.  So, I am going to put everything else to one side and declare this to be Selfish Sewing Week.   Who's with me on this one?

I'm going to try to make a top every day for the next week (yikes!) I have a couple of patterns that I want to use, but I think mostly I'm going to be designing them myself so I should have a few more projects to add to my Patterns and Tutorials page by the end of the week as an added bonus.

I'm really looking forward to the chance to make some things for myself and to make a dent in my stash.  I don't often sew for myself and I feel like committing to a whole week of selfish sewing is pretty much the only way to make sure I don't get distracted with other projects. 

So.  First up:

Sorry but making and blogging about a Tee every day this week, on top of work, housework and general kiddy wrangling is pretty much going to stretch me to my limit as it is. I'm afraid there is simply nothing left for imaginative pattern naming! So, the 'Monday Tee' it is.

Cheeky little photobomber!

I'm really pleased with this tee.  It's such a simple style, but I do love the shape.  It has a lovely neckline, dropped shoulder seams, tapered waist and perfectly cosy long sleeves.  Stay tuned for the Pattern and Tutorial; Coming up next!