A very quick post on T-shirts, Sewaholic Renfrew

According to the calender autumn has been here for a few weeks already, however for the most part I am still wearing sandals, shorts and lightweight summer dresses. And that is fine with me :) But one of these days I will need to dig out some sweaters. To that end I bought (finally) the Renfrew knit top pattern, solely for view C which is the cowl-y turtleneck version. Based on this first version I am very glad I did.

This was very much an experimental version using a tissue weight knit I ordered last year from Fashion Fabrics. I wasn't thrilled with when it arrived so I set it aside for who knows what. To make my first Renfrew cowl version I rummaged through my bin of knits, coming across this which seemed fine for a test version. Once I laid it on the cutting table I realized how sheer it was, and having a lot of yardage I decided to do a double layer for the front and back as I have seen on ready to wear. Worked like a charm and I actually do like it, and can see wearing it with my olive green corduroy jacket. Two items totally outside my usual color range but maybe time for some variety?

Here you can see how thin the fabric is.

One of my layers was a bit raggedy as I was near the edge of the fabric and I meant to put that on the inside, but as you can see I did not. Oh well. I decided to leave the edges raw because I liked the look plus how could one hem that fabric? I'm sure there is a way but it seemed like a very fiddly fabric to hem.

Here is the pattern envelope showing the options. I also made the neckline of Version A on another top to see where that landed on the body, and as a comparison to my Jalie T-shirts which I really like.

This version below was definitely a test, just to see if I liked the shape and the neckline. On this pattern I made a size 10 and I really like how the armholes fit, although I narrowed the shoulders a bit on the version above. The top of the sleeve seam was about 3/4 inch further out than it should be but that is just my usual knit top adjustment. The top below is kind of a goofy knit I just bought at an ASG sale, it is the same type of knit as you find in golf shirts so not super stretchy. I will probably shorten the sleeves to a very small cap sleeve, take it in at the waist and maybe even cut the hem band off. Not crazy about that, I think a regular t-shirt hem would look better, but it is a good idea in terms of not having to do a hem on tricky fabrics. I think I prefer the neckline and band on the Jalie pattern so I will probably to some blending in the future if I make any more tees. Happy on the stripe matching if I do say so. There is a little bit off at the front upper arm but hey, the back looks good!

                        

As for my next project, I have tentatively stuck my toe into the French jacket pool and hope to have that finished this weekend. Not really an authentic version - more like a "faux" French jacket but something for myself to work out the details on fit and finish. My mom has always wanted one so perhaps hers will be the real thing, hand-sewing and all.

Here's hoping all your halloween costume sewing is completed by this weekend so you can move on to other things!
Happy Sewing, Beth

My SunnyGal garden photo for today, getting to be slim pickings this time of year, although I did spy a camelia yesterday. This one is basil, going to flower now with a background of red hibiscus.