Friday, July 5, 2013

Girl Charlee Knit t-shirt and Happy 5th of July

The weather gods are smiling down on us this morning and we are spared from another day of triple-digit temperatures. That is 38C and up for my metric friends.  After 4 or 5 days of 101+ degrees F not much gets accomplished other than the bare obligations. Happily we had a holiday yesterday so I was able to indulge in lazing around, drinking beer, eating fresh summer corn and hamburgers someone else grilled, then topping it off with ice cream.  A perfect summer holiday!
This red and white fabric proved irresistible when I saw it on the Girl Charlee website and it made a perfect red white and blue combo with my most favorite skirt (Vogue 1247).

red and white knit top
I used the Jalie T-shirt pattern which has the best instructions for getting the v-neckline of the binding to be perfect. This started out being a short sleeve t-shirt but when I tried it on all I could think about was how hot I was.  So I unpicked the sleeves, tossed them aside and made it sleeveless. Soooo much better. 

Red white t-shirt Girl Charlee fabric
When I make any binding on knits I cut the length of the binding on the cross-grain of the knit fabric the same length as the opening, sew it with 1/2 inch seam allowances reducing the length by 1 inch and then stretch to fit. So far so good, it seems to work out perfectly. 
I am a bit obsessed with the Girl Charlee fabrics, there are so many I could happily order. Bold, colorful, graphic prints, just my style. I also ordered this one which is a bit wacky but what the heck, another t-shirt will be in the works or maybe a swim cover up.

knit fabric tropical print Girl Charlee
Up next:  I am making a pair of shorts as a test version of this pattern because I want some slim knee length shorts with slant pockets and also am hoping to have a pants pattern for slim trousers when autumn comes. I have an ulterior motive as well because I bought some nice stretch black denim and want to make this jacket and then the slim shorts, kind of a suit but not really. Probably won't wear them together but we shall see. The plain collar version of the jacket, not the ruffle!

                  S1696 pants pattern          S2209 Lisette pattern envelope

Thanks for all the great comments on my last post, Vogue 1353 dress. I like it, I really do! As I mentioned in the post I figure these patterns deserve a thorough critique so that is what I did. One of my all time most popular posts is this one: Compare and Contrast Vogue 1159 and Vogue 1191. Interestingly that includes a Donna Karan pattern (1159) and I did just finish V1351, soon to be blogged. In a word: Pattern Love!  OK, two words.

Happy hot weather sewing (at least in this hemisphere), Beth

SunnyGal garden photo: My first dahlia of the season. Bi-color like my top.

dahlia

14 comments:

  1. I love that stripe and the pattern you used for your tee shirt. A friend had told me about Girl Charlie, but I had for gotten about it. Thanks for the link.

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  2. I just did the same with that Simplicity pants pattern- I made a pair of shorts as a test run before cutting into my good pants fabric. I am happy to report- I love this pattern! They fit very much like ready-to-wear. I can't wait to make the pants, and I will be making a couple more pairs of shorts with this pattern. I hope it turns out well for you, too!

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  3. Love, love your striped top fabric! I keep saying I'm going to make that V skirt. I even washed fabric for it, but it's not cut yet.

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  4. A very cute top! I'm glad you are staying cool!

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  5. Eek, I think I just lost my comment by going up to click on the Girl Charlee site (which is filled with amazing knit treasures, for sure!)

    I'm eager to hear what you think of V1351. Very Purple Person sewed it up in a knit recently and it was so adorable I had to buy it. It sounds like it works for you too!

    And that red stripe tank is totally perfect. Just love it.

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  6. Wow, this is a wqonderful knit top-you have such great taste in pairing fabric and pattern.

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  7. Love the stripes! You made a good choice in making it sleeveless. Isn't the weather change a huge relief?

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  8. Oh My I love this top so much I can't stand it! Stripes are my favorite fabric
    and I love what you did with it!

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  9. Love the color! Is the fabric print angled or did you cut the pattern that way? Love the final product! I must add this pattern to my list.

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  10. Lovely top! This fabric keeps popping up, and I love it every time!

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  11. Beth. You are so talented. Love this top.

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  12. Stay cool! I know extended heat waves like that can be hard to take at the time but honestly I am over winter already. I'm a warm-weather gal too :) Your new top looks very appropriately flaggy!

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  13. Hi Beth! I just love the shirt! Beautifully done :) Thank you for the mention.

    ~Janet http://www.girlcharlee.com//

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