I’m in the T-shirt project, a sew- along  hosted by E-made this. The idea is to make 12 differently styled t-shirts – one each month for a year, being creative with designs, alterations or prints/colours.

My first t-shirt for this sew-along is actually a bunch of t-shirts. I decided to draft a pattern for a kimono sleeved t-shirt that is fitted (with negative ease) at the bust, but skims loosely over the waist and high hip. I wanted a basic t-shirt, fast and easy to sew, flattering and relaxed fit. This more or less fits the bill.

{My teal version (I actually made two of these). Tucked in as I usually wear it, and untucked, so you can see the lines}

I have designed the t-shirt for knit fabric containing stretch (lycra or elastane). All my versions are made of different viscose (rayon) jerseys containing about 5 % lycra. But even though they sound similar in content, they have a very different feel from each other. The light blue dotted fabric is much less drapey than the purple dotted fabric and the  teal is quite thin.

I’ve made a size XS with a Full Bust Alteration of 2.5 cm, with which I rotated the dart to centre front (because I didn’t want a dart in this relaxed fit t-shirt (I will explain how to do that in a later post) and a forward shoulder alteration of 1.2 cm.

{I found this fabric in Århus, when we were taking a shopping break. Same fabric as my navy version}

I graded the pattern in 5 sizes and has just send it out to the pattern testers, and as soon as I get the feedback and finish the pattern and the instructions, it will be available here as a free download (probably with in a month or so) – so everybody can make their perfect relaxed fit t-shirt.

I’ve been waiting for nicer weather so I could get some nice photos outside, but today I just gave in and took the pictures inside using the self timer on my point-and-shoot.

I’ve made 8 kimono tee shirts in different colours and prints. I might have enough now! :-)

{This fabric made me so spring-happy. I also have it in a bright pink and a red, but thought it would be a bit too much if they all became t-shirts..}

What I like about a kimono tee is that it’s a very relaxed style. It’s also very easy and quick to sew: I timed the construction of the light blue dotted one and it took 71 minutes from cutting the fabric to wearing the finished shirt- including waiting for seams to cool after pressing them! That’s what I call instant gratification – and since each t-shirt only took 70 cm of fabric, it’s also a way to use remnants and fun prints that you just bought a meter of, because you just wanted the fabric (I’m not the only one who shops like that, right?)

But I also like that it’s a nice blank canvas for a basic top that you can embellish with iron-on patches, embroidery, iron on prints made on your computer etc.

I didn’t do that yet, but I’m thinking that I’ll try adding a scissor print (like this one I pinned to my inspiration board)to one of my grey tops.

{I like the basic grey top with my red jeans. Very relaxed outfit!}

SO that’s it for my T-shirt Project #1.

Now I’ll work on my ONION 2015 shirt dress for a while, while pondering over what kind of t-shirt I’ll make in May…

P.S. Remember to enter the GIVE-AWAY if you haven’t already. I’m drawing the winners of free MiniKrea kids patterns on Monday!

Read more:

THE T-SHIRT PROJECT T-shirt: Pattern perfectioning (or close enough..) WARDROBE SEWING INSPIRATION AUTUMN 2012 FO: A CHRISTMAS-Y T-SHIRT MARIADENMARK KIRSTEN T-SHIRT PATTERN – FREE