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Made by me / My makes / Sewing activewear

A workout t-shirt and some sewing struggles

So let’s take a look at one more garment of my latest workout wear collection – a workout t-shirt with side panels. I drafted this pattern myself and did not test garment before I cut into the real fabric – so this is a pricey test garment basically. Plus it was my first garment that I made during my extensive study on the best methods for my coverstitch binder attachment. So there were some mishaps here and there.

This horizontal back seam was what killed it for me, I had to re-sew it like five times because all my methods ended up looking messed up. I have no idea why I even included it since I wasn’t using colour blocking.  Sometimes I’m so stupid! And we all know what happens when we sew and then rip knits cross-wise – we’ll end up with a stretched out mess that is very hard to tame. So now I have a weird uneven seam in the back, with no purpose. Oh well.

I’m quite happy about the panels and the fit of the t-shirt though. But I did one more stupid mistake: Since I draft all my tops using a tight-fitting neckline for a collar, I forgot to scoop out the neckline enough in the front, so it is slightly strangling me when I move about. Oh well, again.

As for the neckline binding, I think it looks fine for a first attempt. The seam is a tad bit too high up from the edge and it is a bit uneven on the inside. Luckily the next garment I used the binder attachment on went better (stay tuned for more info on that!)

So yeah, not a perfect t-shirt.  But as I said I think the fit is okay, apart from the tight neckline. So now I know what to tweak and perhaps (hopefully) do it better next time!

6 Comments

  • Adrianne
    October 27, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    Your shirt fits beautifully! You are a fearless sewer and a great role model for those of us who are not!

    Reply
    • Johanna
      October 28, 2017 at 9:29 pm

      Thank you! Sewing is such a life long journey isn’t it? Sometimes we take two steps forward and then one step back ☺

      Reply
  • PsychicSewerKathleen
    October 27, 2017 at 3:33 pm

    Love the idea of a side panel on a Tee (especially since I always have to do an FBA!) I think your Tee is lovely and you’ve drafted it for lots of fitting opportunities – the back yoke, the side panel. This could be your first pattern release Johanna 🙂

    Reply
    • Johanna
      October 28, 2017 at 9:31 pm

      Yes those panels really help with fit, even on a small chested person such as myself, get rids of those wrinkles that is hard to avoid when sewing t-shirts. And thank you for believing in my patterns ☺ Perhaps someday!

      Reply
  • Bracken
    October 27, 2017 at 4:30 pm

    Well it looks good to me. And horrible though it makes me sound – its nice to know this kind of thing happens to other people and not just to me! I seem to regularly mess up a seam or as you did include a seam where there is no need for one and you can bet on it that will be where it all goes wrong. Either way your finished top looks great. I love the fabric. Be proud of your self!

    Reply
    • Johanna
      October 28, 2017 at 9:35 pm

      ☺I think we all struggle at some point, sewing is a life long learing thing for sure! I used to be a bit self conscious when I made mistakes, especially since I have so much experience, but now I just lay it all out there! As you say it happens to all of us

      Reply

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