January Tee Complete!

I've completed my January tee for the Make a Garment a Month Challenge! Well, one of them anyhow.

I started off with Vogue 8514, view C. That gathered back was really irresistible.

I had a very lightweight, soft grey knit, just perfect for this design. I cut it one night, and finished sewing it the next day. It was so simple to cut out and sew together that I felt a little bit like the Grinch making a Santy-Claus suit!

I did change a few things. I had to take 2 1/2 inches out of the length, as it looked more like a nightshirt when I was done -- I forgot to measure before cutting, and I'm quite short so always have to adjust length. I don't know what I was thinking! And because it was a loose fitting top I cut a 12, and thankfully it fit perfectly. 

Front view -- there is no pink tinge to this
shirt, it is my camera once again acting up

Back view - you can see the light weight of this
fabric, it does tend to stick to my jeans a bit

I really like this shirt, it's comfortable and I think a little nicer than something totally plain even if it is just solid grey. One of the reviewers on PR mentioned that there are no instructions for serger -- true, but I don't have a serger so I didn't mind. If you have one, then this would be an even faster project. I also put the facings on at the neckline -- you probably don't need to do that, but I thought I'd follow the pattern, mostly, on the first try. I did sew the sleeve bands on as one instead of hand sewing down the inside. There are limits after all!

The only problems I found were that the sleeve seam (along the middle of the arm as the sleeve is cut on) tends to twist, and I have to straighten it when first putting it on or after doing anything really active. Also, perhaps because of the weight of the extra fabric at the back, it does pull toward the back a little and has to be readjusted every now and again. But those aren't annoying enough to change my opinion that this is a nice shirt that I am really enjoying!

I wore it out for the first time today, when I went to a local community workshop on re-purposing clothes, organized by the energetic owner of my favourite local consignment shop, Covet Consign & Resale. We learned how to make slippers out of old sweaters -- we traced our feet on the body of the sweater to make the soles, and cut off the sleeves at an angle to make the upper foot and leg. I picked an old red-hooded sweatshirt and ended up with these:

Two cozy feet

Side view -- see the original wrist ribbing at the top?

Please ignore my atrocious hand sewing on this ;)

I had a lot of fun at this community sewing event -- my online sewing community encouraged me to make this t-shirt, and the in-person one today helped me make my new red slippers. What fun!