I only had a small piece though, so thought about which pattern to use for a long time. I finally just went with the Kirsten, as I have made it twice before, and wear those simple tees a lot. I found while I was home a lot I was reaching for them often.
I really like the fit of this one -- now that I've made my adjustments, that is. As drafted it is pretty straight up and down so if you have a larger lower half like me, you'll probably want to add width at the hip. The first one I made was very tight, so I added wedges of extra fabric to each side, then altered the pattern piece itself for future makes. I added 1.5" to each side seam at the hem, making a gradual slope up to meet the original seamline just under the arm. This gives me 3 extra inches on each side, which fits me smoothly, not too tight or too loose. So be aware if you don't like negative ease at your hip/belly area.
The neckband worked out almost right this time. I miscalculated and didn't cut my strip short enough so after I'd stitched it on (even though I was planning on basting it on to test first) I realized it had a bit of floppy excess at the shoulder areas. Grr. But I didn't want to unpick it all on this fabric and redo if I didn't have to. (Pro tip: don't sew when overtired).
Anyhow, I took a trick from the Mandy Boat Tee by Tessuti and just put a shoulder dart into the neckband at each side (only about 1/2" in total each). This allows the neckband to sit flat at the shoulder line and with the print you don't even notice it. Whew, easy fix! As it turns out I did the same at the back centre but the print disguises the dart line well. It looks better than having a bubble sagging out at the back neckline! I'm glad this worked out with all my tweaks and that I can wear this lovely fabric. I'll think of the gentleman I bought it from each time I wear it.
