In my post about summer knitting plans, I featured a lovely blueberry speckle cotton yarn. I expressed interest in making this yarn into a t-shirt. Initially, my goal was to knit a long-sleeved tee but as time went on and I started getting into knitting podcasts, I realized that knit t-shirts are truly adorable – and versatile! I pivoted and I am absolutely thrilled with the result!
This was my first time making knitwear for the summer and it unlocked a whole new world of design possibilities. For this project, I self-drafted my pattern, which consisted of four pieces. Two body pieces with a shaped neckline and two sleeves that were all sewn together afterward. I used size 6 US needles and used 7ish out of 10 skeins of 108 yards. A grand total of 756ish yards were needed to complete this project.
This was a special make for my husband Kyle who loves to find short-sleeve button-down shirts with fun and unusual patterns for the summer. This started early in our marriage at the thrift store where he found some nautical print button-downs. I slowly added to his collection finding a lobster print, a pina colada-themed shirt, and a shark one. Now that I sew, I approach this differently by browsing the fabric stores.
When I saw this print on Mood Fabrics’ website I knew exactly what it would be – a short sleeve button-down for Kyle. And it did not disappoint!
When I first heard of making small snipping cuts into the curves of seams for necklines and arm openings, I thought this was a bunch of nonsense. An extra step that only overachieving sewing people do. But once I gave it a try – there was night and day difference with how non-stretch fabrics draped against the form. The comfort and fit has been a level up to professional feeling. It’s totally worth it and I can’t believe I was stubbornly against putting the extra effort in. Looking back, there were definitely projects I made that I didn’t like because the neckline and arm openings fit wonky. If only I had tried this weird sounding hack.
In the curve of seams, make a very small cut in the seam allowance, not the actual part of the seam you are going to sew. For structural integrity that’s important. You don’t want your seam to have a cut or it will rip. The cuts in the seam allowance give the illusion of stretch and help the non-stretch fabric curve without warping the line of the curve. It creates shape without bulk and proper fit. The quality of a garment, I’m learning is not the fabric quality alone, it’s the planning and care put into the construction. Proper pattern cutting can make or break the fit of the look you are going for.
I’ve been sewing my clothes for nearly four years now, which had some unexpected results. I knew I would like the clothes I made better than those off the rack once my tailoring skills caught up to my ideas and that has happened. I didn’t expect the rocky period of making things I liked that didn’t fit into my wardrobe. This has been a problem over the last two years. I think because my style was changing. I think the clothes I was buying at stores were not really me but more a trendy persona to blend in. Going into 2024, I wanted my clothes to be more cohesive.
I’ve been more intentional with what I sew and how I will wear it with the pieces already in my wardrobe. I’m also less afraid to upcycle and repurpose existing clothes I’ve bought or made into something that will work with my current clothing and accessories. This summer I’ve felt like I every piece has had a purpose in my wardrobe and everything feels like an accurate reflection of who I am. It’s been a lot of fun to mix and match pieces, even dabbling in layering garments in ways I may not have tried before. With how busy this summer has been unpacking, I’ve been less likely to reach for my accessories, which I’d like to get better at because I know that would truly bring an outfit together.
In the meantime, I think this has been a successful season of making and wearing because I reached for my pieces more than anything else in my wardrobe. It feels good to know they are getting used and can easily mix and match with other garments in my closet to get as much use out of the items I made as possible.
I started keeping track of my outfits because of my Instagram and blog, to catalog my makes and it has been a fantastic way to see what I am wearing and what I should repurpose or re-home. If you are feeling stuck in a style rut I’d highly recommend keeping a record of what you wear and how you wear them. It’s been a helpful tool to find my personal style.
Designing clothing has been a journey of learning how outfits come together within an existing wardrobe. That is my biggest takeaway from the last four years and what I’m excited to apply to my future creations as a designer and maker.
You will recognize this fabric if you’ve been here since I shared my Spring/Summer 2023 collection. I originally purchased it for a Christmas present project as part of my Autumn/Winter 2022 Collection for a pair of pants. I happened to not share it on the site. With the extra yardage, I made a blouse and a matching skirt I styled in 2023 as separates and a set.
This got me thinking, should I just make it a dress? So I did, I sewed the two together with mixed results. I liked the dramatic drape of the shoulders in contrast with the defined waist but the fabric is thin and I knew I wouldn’t wear it as a long sleeve garment. So I chopped the sleeves to a flutter sleeve option.
This felt even worse when I wore it as a short-sleeved dress. The dress was constructed well, the fabric of good quality, and the color scheme flattering but I did not reach for it. The sleeves made me feel weird and wide instead of cute. I didn’t feel like me. Have you ever experienced that with a garment or a project you have made? There’s nothing technically wrong with what you made or what you tried on, but it feels off. This left me with one more option. No sleeves.
So I chopped the sleeves entirely and that’s when I felt like I struck gold! It looks like a dress my Grandma used to wear. Shirtwaist dresses were her staple dress and I see why. They are versatile and practical. I can dress this up or down. I can layer over or under for different looks. It’s a dress I know I’ll be making again with a proper button placket and pockets for sure.
It’s a bit silly to think about now, but learning how to sew from Youtube meant that using all the correct drafting tools, was a process of failing in order to realize I needed them.
I made a series of pants and shorts in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Some were okay, many were awful, some turned out better than expected because of a pattern. What I was missing in my sewing tool kit though was the predictability of the french curve.
Once I began drafting with this wonderful comma, I saw an improvement in my pattern drafting, ease of wear for garments made with this tool, and a reduction of fabric waste from cutting the curve wrong.
This July has been the first time I’ve recognized that feeling of time passing. The year is halfway over, what do I want to do with these last six months to finish the year strong?
In May, I felt like my life was done, as I knew it. Like a video game, I was done, out of hearts, out of health, game over. June felt like an exciting adventure and a respawn of my little game character in a new environment but the same life. It was thrilling and overwhelming at times, there was so much to catch up on and so much to do to begin our life in our house. July however has been this month of my brain feeling like it is in hyperspeed. Now that I have a new space to create, I also have new creative energy. That two-month break spent packing, moving, and waiting, was like a creative refresh and since then July has been a sprint.
I think some of this wild energy has been all the excitement of this month as part of the STAY fandom, this has truly been a one-of-a-kind comeback, but also I’ve been seeking distraction. My mom is walking through a health condition that came out of nowhere and in a matter of a few weeks she went from my companion packing boxes to being unable to do much physical activity without her body sending off alarm bells. I’ve never seen her like this before, and if I stop to think about it too much, I freak out.
I’ve turned my attention to what the second half of the year could bring. There have been so many wonderful things on the horizon, my friend’s wedding, my sister-in-law’s new place, Kyle’s new woodshop, the possibility of adopting a rabbit from E.A.R.S, Shakerwoods, the Pittsburgh Renaissance Festival, apple picking, Pumpkinville, etc. I’ve begun planning Christmas presents for loved ones, trying to be more ambitious than ever to push myself to learn something new in the process. I’ve also been feeling the itch to actually sell my pieces. I think it’s time, I just have to figure out where and how.
In middle school, I had a black off-the-shoulder sweater with a wide fold-over collar and a coordinating skirt in gray and black stripe. It was the first skirt outfit I tried wearing over pants, a trend that has come back in popularity over the past few years along with the 2000s style. All of this has made me nostalgic for my old sweater, but not interested in buying one like it because I don’t love the new take on 2000s fashion with our current-day fabrics and fast fashion construction. It’s just all off-kilter from the original subject material.
So, I had an idea. What if I tried making one with the yarn in my stash? I had several skeins of this navy tweed from Big Twist that I didn’t buy with a specific purpose, and it took up space. It seemed like a fun color I could coordinate like I did with the Houndstooth Denim dress worn as a maxi skirt. It was an ambitious make.
I’ve only been making sweaters for a few years and had no experience designing a pattern with no collar or shoulder seams. There was a lot to think about. How could I incorporate the big fold-over collar? How do you add sleeves with the new style lines? How do you keep it on the shoulder enough so it doesn’t fall down? As with most of my makes, I dove head first into the project ready to fail if that meant I learned something!
The first obstacle I found was not having enough yarn, shocking right? I was surprised I had multiple skeins of this blue, but it wasn’t enough to get the longer length, so I had a choice to buy more or get creative in this stashbusting project? I decided using what I had was more important than keeping the original vision so I chose this gray yarn I also had in my stash from the Bunny Hat project. It brought an interesting contrast to the tweed and I actually loved the color blocking once it was done.
The arm holes were such a challenge. As I was knitting this piece top down, I first knit the ribbed collar and then reduced down for the body section, leaving enough of the collar on the edge to insert an armhole after I was done with both the front and then back. All was seamed together and for a first try, I’d say it was a success. The geometry definitely worked. I had a free range of motion. It was a win!
What was not a win was my over-calculation when it came to fit. I forgot to accommodate the size needle I was using, a US size 8, which knits up with a larger gauge. I had been using US size 7 more recently and I sized like I would have for this gauge. My second mistake was not accounting for the stretchiness of this yarn. It is an acrylic and nylon blend that gets roomy with wear leading to a sweater that simply didn’t fit.
After the move, several months after this project was done, I tried this on again and realized that I had toned up more than I thought carrying all those boxes because the sweater slips right off my shoulders and off my hips too. It’s a total size failure! Now I’m not sure what to do with it. I’ve already taken in the collar back in April, I don’t think I can take it in again and it is constructed well so frogging this project is not going to be easy. It’s a shame because I think I had a good design here.
I think my only option is to potentially re-home it and make another one following the tutorial that I shared on Instagram which was my first time doing that. I felt such imposter syndrome! To my surprise, it was met positively even though it was not created for circular needles. It showed me that sharing my craft and creating tutorials is becoming a calling, free tutorials, and free knitting and sewing tips because I just want people to do this too.
This year I’ve been transferring designs that I like onto my own paper patterns for a quick reference when planning projects and cutting out garments. It has also opened a new world of pattern hacking my own patterns! I’d heard of pattern hacking before but mainly in the context of pattern hacking pieces from the big four, either by altering the lines of the pattern piece or mashing up patterns from different garments to create something new. Trying it with my own patterns has been incredibly fulfilling and made designing a lot easier. I’m wasting less fabric and having a much easier time tailoring my garments, which means when I start designing to sell I’ll have this process down instead of being lost. It’s exciting!
One of the patterns I hacked into something new was the bodice pattern from this Henley top I made from a ribbed knit fabric from the Walmart remnant bin, it was a major score! This pattern has a scoop neck and a relaxed shoulder line that extends off the shoulder.
I used this pattern to make a pinafore-style dress from blush pink cotton with a micro polka-dot pattern in a vintage fabric from my Gram’s stash. She had 8 yards of it, and since it was translucent I decided to double layer the dress, the result has been one of the most well-finished garments I’ve made because of using the pattern and fully lining it. The first time I wore this dress out was actually to tour the house I ended up buying – good memories!
Because this was a pattern hack project, the original top may be a little tricky to see in the lines of the finished dress at first. The scoop is less deep and the relaxed shoulder I brought up an inch to make the sleeves a bit more graceful to wear on its own or with another garment underneath in the winter.
Another change was the v line in the back instead of being a crew neck, I also cut the back bodice pieces on an angle to create a better fit which worked well. I changed the line of the waist too by swooping the line upward in a half-moon shape which has been one of my favorite hacks so far. With the gathers on the skirt and minimal print, it draws the eye to style lines in the garment which is a different technique from how I normally design. It feels like a level-up of my skill set and I hope to keep exploring this style.
One Rabbit Riot 