Well, I finally joined the party and bought Rae’s Flashback Skinny Tee pattern. I saw so many great versions in the flickr pool during KCWC, I couldn’t resist it any longer. My confidence sewing with knits isn’t the greatest, so I also got myself a walking foot, hoping it might makes my knit garments look a little more pro.
Here’s what I ended up with:
Does it look tiny?
It is. (feel free to skip this next part if you don’t care about my sewing woes, I won’t take it personally…) It started out as a 3T, but I failed miserably. Actually, to be fair, the whole thing came together beautifully until the neckband. The directions said to measure your neck opening and subtract one, then cut your neckband to that length. But there was also a chart with a recommended neck band length for each size. The two numbers were waaaaaay off for me (17 vs. 10.5 inches), so I split the difference and ended up with a huge, stretched-out neck. Which I tediously picked out. Of course, you can’t really pick out a narrow zigzag stitch on stretchy jersey, it just doesn’t work. The neck ended up totally misshapen, with little holes all over the place. It was pointless to try to sew on a smaller neckband at that point, but that didn’t keep me from attempting it, since I’d gone to all the trouble to rip out the old one. No go. SO…to salvage the fabric (and because I really wanted to make a damn skinny tee!) I cut it into a 12-18 sized month shirt.
And now all is well. If I had any use for a shirt this size, that is.
But really, despite my troubles, I love everything about this pattern and plan to make many, many more of these shirts. This thing is so soft and cozy – these are the clothes kids (my kid, anyway) want to wear! Lila always chooses from the handful of long sleeved T-shirts in her closet, so I think this pattern might just be my golden ticket. Once I get it made in the correct size.
BTW, I haven’t sewn a lot with knits, but I do think the walking foot made a difference. If you’re looking for info on avoiding puckers when you sew with knits, I found Rae’s post on hemming knits and her walking foot video very helpful. I used the walking foot and a narrow zigzag stitch throughout.
The main fabric came from a two-pack of Carter’s swaddling blankets that I bought on sale for this purpose – it’s a very soft, stretchy jersey. My neckband fabric also has a good deal of stretch, and it did say in the pattern directions to shorten the band if you’re working with very stretchy fabric. I should have stuck with the recommended length, which is what I did the second time around. I don’t have access to a toddler to see if this fits, but it certainly looks better than my first attempt.
In case you were wondering, here’s what a 3 year old looks like in a 12 month old’s shirt.
AND, she refused to take it off! I knew she’d love this shirt.
Also, have you checked out the Vintage May series hosted by skirt as top and Craftiness in Not Optional? It’s starting up next week (though both sites have lots of great vintage-inspired posts this week, too). And if you’re looking for modern patterns with a vintage (or retro) feel, check out Kristin’s great roundup, which includes the Flashback Skinny Tee!
I about snorted on the model pictures!! Thanks for keeping it real!!
Haha, that’s fantastic. Love the belly photo. And thanks for the link up, friend! Wait until you see what I’ve got for tomorrow. Hehe!
I think she rocks the skinny mini look! I have a little person who could give it a good home – just kidding! Great process post.
Belly! So cute. I’ve been meaning to try this pattern, though my history with knits is rather tragic…
omg, your post is hilarious and the belly pic awesome. i’m scared of necklines on knits, too. mine have never come out right. seems like you need some voodoo magic for it to work! but your redo is awesome. you should cut the bottom of the top off and sew on a circle skirt. that would be so cute in the blue if you have enough leftover.
Aw, but it looks PERFECT! Just a little short in length. So now you just need to do it a few sizes bigger.
The neckline is definitely the hardest part. I should say, figuring out how long to cut the ribbing for the neckline is DEFINITELY the hardest part. What I have learned is that using more stable, less stretchy fabrics (more like an actual t-shirt) is easier, and stretchier, softer fabrics are harder (not impossible, just a bigger challenge). When I cut up a men’s tee and used that (including the ribbing), it sewed together without a hitch. With stretchier stuff (which I love the texture of) it was harder, and basically the neckline piece needed to be a TON shorter than her recommendation. Good luck!!
thanks!
i’m so drawn to those soft, stretchy knits, but i do want to try this again with something more stable to see how it compares. once i get my 3T neckband measurements figured out i’m going into mass production!
awe, sorry the knits gave you troubles! Sometimes the really stretchy knits can be a lot harder to figure out. Also, a good pressing sometimes gets things back into place. Looks like you got it figured out though! too cute!
Your post is hilarious! Mostly because I could have written the exact same thing
Dang that neck! I adore the picture of your daughter in it regardless of its size.
Snorting going on here too! I don’t need to wonder what 12 month clothes look like on a three year old – my three year old shows me nearly every day by trying out her sister’s clothes! Jumping around in a grobag is her current fave!
total crack up! Love the pics. It doesn’t look as tiny as i thought it would be though…cute belly
Maybe you could add a blue band around the bottom… Too cute!
supercute gender neutral color combo:)
Swaddling blankets are a great idea for knit! Love the color choice and the way you lined up those stripes. I made a shirt the other day (okay like a week or two ago, I’m totally behind on blogging) and everything went well until I decided to scallop the neck binding. I unpicked the ridiculous thing and ended up trimming the neckline down and trying again. It’s a little puckery still but decent enough.