Tag Archives: Sewing with Knits

Gold Spotty Jackson

Classic Striped Jackson Tee

This was I think the 5th Jackson I’ve made, but only the second to make it to the blog – seems odd to share sweatshirts in August!

As with the first version I made, this is the size 10, which is 3 sizes bigger than my measurements. I cut it at the length of views A and D but cut straight across, instead of curved. Obviously this is the short sleeved version and I made no changes to the sleeve length of the short sleeves. I like that they’re almost elbow length as I hate tiny short sleeves on tees because they don’t go well under cardigans/jumpers, they bunch up and you end up sweating on the knitwear instead of on the tee. TMI? Probably. Oh well.

The fabric is some ponte roma I bought in at Crafty Sew and So in Leicester the last time I was up there for the Dressmaker’s Ball, which I think was in 2019! I used a bit of it to make a vest top in the great underwear sew of 2021. I had just enough left for the Jackson to fit, and to pattern match the stripes across the side seams – that and a matching pocket is about my limit when it comes to pattern matching tbh! It’s possible the fabric is a little too stiff for the vibe I’m going for with the over-sized thing but I do love this top – and I’m wearing it right now as I type this!

Of course you must know by now how much I love Helen’s Closet and I think this is going to become my go-to tee pattern. I have some white and some mustard jerseys I want to make into tees and I think I’ll be reaching for the Jackson when I get around to cutting out/sewing them up. I think I’ve got enough to make a long-sleeved and short-sleeved version from each fabric. Hopefully!

Speaking of the Dressmakers Ball, I should probably get some fabric and start making my outfit…..oops.

Mustard Stripey Jackson Tee

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If you follow my blog you may have picked up on the fact that I love Helen’s Closet’s patterns – I’ve made a lot of Ardens, a Sandpiper (with more on the way), Sam aprons, Blackwood cardigans, Elliot Sweaters, and I’ve just bought the Gilbert top and have made 1 so far with another cut out (coming eventually to the blog!).

But my most recent obsession is the Jackson top/tee. I was looking for a basic tee pattern and I know Helen’s Closet has great drafting and grading so I went for it. My first version is one of my favs. This is some fabric I’ve had in my stash for a while. I made some underwear from it but there was a good amount left to make this tee. There was even enough to match the stripes on the side seams!

I made the size 10, which is 3 sizes bigger than my measurements as I wanted an over-sized fit – I’m finding myself more and more drawn to looser shapes these days. I cut the hem at the size a/d line but straightened off. I didn’t want the bands on the hem or cuffs as I didn’t really want a sweatshirt vibe. I lengthened the sleeve by 7cm to compensate for the lack of cuffs – but I ended up removing 6 of those centimetres! And I still had a 2cm hem. I also did a 2cm hem on the bottom.

I did make another 3 Jacksons straight away and a 4th short sleeved one – again, coming eventually to the blog. I’ve been sewing up a storm recently so I have a lot of projects to share! I love this one especially and I love the fit I ended up with. I think this will definitely be my go to tee pattern forever now!

Sallie Jumpsuit

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This has to be one of the longest-waiting makes ever. Luckily I keep a (not very comprehensive) list of when I cut things out (and when I’ve finished it, photographed it etc) and according to that list, I cut out this Sallie Jumpsuit in June 2017! I clearly slightly lost enthusiasm for it, though I don’t totally hate it now it’s finished.

I made the size 4 and due to the amount of fabric I had to slightly crop the legs – if I’d have had enough fabric, I would have made them longer for sure.

The fabric was a £4.99 remnant from Rolls and Rems, which I bought way before I moved away from London almost 5 years ago! I think for my taste, the fabric is a bit too slinky for me to really love this jumpsuit. It’s also quite thin and I made it towards the end of Summer, so I haven’t had a chance to wear it yet. I think I’ll keep it in my wardrobe until next Summer to see if it’s a nice thing to wear on the, like, 4 really hot days we have here in the UK.

I suspect what will happen is it will sit in my wardrobe, I won’t wear it and then I’ll give it away. Funny considering how long I had the fabric, and how long the thing was cut out before I sewed it together. Though maybe it’s not a surprise I don’t love it as I clearly put off the whole make for aaaages!

I bought the fabric when I hadn’t been sewing for a super long time – and definitely when I hadn’t sewn much with jersey. I did have a tendency to buy lots of remnants from Rolls and Rems (which I think isn’t there any more) just because they were a decent length and they were cheap. But really cheap fabric is not necessarily made from a fibre you actually want to use!

I do really like the top half of the jumpsuit though, especially the back. I slightly wish I’d used this bodice view on my Sallie dress instead of the version that ties on the shoulders. I have also only worn the dress version a couple of times.

I’m sure lots of sewists have gone through the same thing, but it’s interesting how my style has changed through the years I’ve been making my own clothes. I’m sure part of that is feeling like ‘I’m not ready yet’ to, for example, make jeans and also the general shift which seems to have happened away from more vintage styles and lots of dresses to more stylish basics, like jeans, boxy tops, looser fitting trousers and shift dresses. Obviously some people are still into sewing vintage styles – but while I still love the look of so many vintage garments, I’m not drawn to wearing them in the same way! I think this jumpsuit maybe fits into an earlier iteration of my style – but maybe I wouldn’t have realised that if I’d have never actually sewn it up.

Have you been through a style evolution as a result of learning to sew? Before I sewed I felt restricted by what was pretty cheap in H&M or Primark and so I didn’t especially think about what I might actually like to wear – but with sewing, and being a straight size – I could actually think about what I wanted to wear and make those things, like shirts!

2 Jersey Inari Tees

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After sharing my 6 woven Inari tees I thought I’d share 2 jersey ones I made at the same time. I think 8 should be enough of the same top for now, hey! 😂

This first one is made from leftover fabric from this Peppermint jersey dress I made a few years ago.

I still love the colour of this fabric and since I don’t wear the dress super often, I’m glad to have another garment made from the same fabric.

You can’t really see in the photos but I put the neckband on backwards, with the join right in the front which is a bit annoying but I noticed after I’d overlocked and top-stitched it and couldn’t be bothered to unpick so much stitching!

This grey one is made from the left over fabric from my Toaster sweater, which I also very seldom wear, so I’m also glad to have finally sewn up the remnants into a more wearable top.

I don’t quite know what happened to the neckband on this top, but it looks really buckled. Bit annoying, but again, I noticed when I’d done all the stitching and what can I say, I’m lazy!

This was the smallest remnant I used for any Inari tee so I really had to piece together the back panel. I slightly wish I’d pieced the front too, though I do kind of like the sleek front and pieced back.

In case you hadn’t guessed, I think the Inari is my favourite boxy tee pattern, though there are so many other options out there. I do kind of want to try some other patterns but how many t-shirts does someone who lives in the UK need?!