Inspired by my trip to Paris I've gone mad for stripes recently, so this time round it wasn't difficult to choose some appropriate fabric from Doughty's for my Simple Sew make.
This black and white striped jersey is pretty much your standard t-shirt fabric, ideal for the Miranda t-shirt. The pattern is pretty simple so I wanted to focus on making sure those side seam stripes were bang on!
To do this I did not cut out on the fold, I cut half the front piece then flipped it down the middle and made sure all the stripes lined up along the side edge of the pattern. Then I pinned these stripes to avoid them slipping and sliding as I cut. I cut out on my floor using a rotary cutter so that the bottom layer didn't move around. I made sure the bottom of my pattern lined up along the top of a stripe so that when I came to cutting the back piece I could do the same and we'd at least have a chance of matching those stripes! I then laid the back pattern piece over the front I had cut and drew on to the paper where all the white stripes met the raw edges. I lined these up with the stripes on the fabric before cutting the back out.
There are a few ways to add variation to the Miranda T-Shirt, varying the sleeve length and neckline shape. I found the overall length of the tshirt to be a bit long so I made the whole thing a few cm shorter. I opted for the short sleeve version, and having never made a v-neckline before thought I'd save the round neck for next time.
I'd never really considered before that the seam in a vneck is right at the front! Once the neck band is cut and folded it can be attached right sides together to the neckline, stretching out a little as you sew. I'm not going to lie, I found it quite difficult to line up the centre seam of the neck with the centre of the tshirt... And it's reaaaaaally obvious if you get it wrong haha! Also if you're overlocking it can be a little tricky to unpick and try again! It turned out okay, though I think it could have been better. Any tips for avoiding mis-aligning again?
The sleeves are inserted flatly, so before you sew up the side seam. This makes putting them in quite easy, especially when using stretch fabric. Once inserted, I overlocked the sleeve opening then turned underonce and stitched down with twin needle.
The fabric is pretty stretchy so I used a layer of thin paper as a stabiliser when I stitched to avoid the fabric stretching out. I then peeled this away to reveal my nice even stitches :)
I lined the side seam stripes up with about a million pins to ensure they matched up perfectly after all that concentration cutting out... Only to find I wanted to take it in a bit at the waist haha! This was pretty easy though, I tired on the t-shirt then pinned to fit, taking in just a few cms between waist and hips. I made sure those stripes were still matching then re-stitched my seam.
Love it! Now for more monochrome jersey for my next one!
x
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Currently listening to: Why Do They Leave, Ryan Adams
