blanc t-shirt pattern | Needle and Foot

Inspired by all of the wonderful makes being shared on Instagram this month for the Me Made May event, I made a simple t-shirt dress last week. Three weeks ago or more, I spied this black and white knit fabric at Ben Franklin’s. It was 20% off which made it a good deal. When I first saw it, I thought it would be a cute t-shirt. However, once I got ready to cut it out, I realized I had more than enough for a dress.

Because I liked the fit of the Blanc t-shirt I made with that mauve fabric, it seemed reasonable to just extend the length of the pattern and create a dress. I figured if it didn’t look right, I could trim the length and wear it as a shirt. Once I had the pattern pieces and fabric laid out, I took an old t-shirt dress I have worn for the last couple of summers and put it on top to determine the length and width of the lower part of the dress.

After cutting it out, it is just a couple of seams to put it together. The neckline is finished with bias tape and each seam is finished with a wide zig zag stitch. (I know, I should have used the serger but it is in the shop. A story for another post!)

Once I had the shoulder seams together, I slipped it on and saw the length was a bit shorter than I wanted. I debated adding a block of solid black to the bottom for length but honestly, I didn’t feel like driving to the store. (Living where we do, a run to Ben Franklin is about a 20 mile round trip.) Instead, I finished the hemline with the same black bias tape. That way I didn’t lose any length to turning under the fabric for a hem. It worked really well and made it just long enough to wear.

Overall, I like the dress. The fit isn’t perfect but I will enjoy wearing it. I have really been enjoying making things to wear lately. Me Made May was a great way to jump back into garment sewing. How about you? Do you have the itch to make something too? I have a pair of pants in process that I am unsure about. The seem like they are going to fit well but the fabric is very soft and I fear they are going to look like pajama pants. If this is the case, well I guess I will have a new pair of pj pants! We shall see.

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Do any of you follow, or get involved in, Me Made May each year? This event is one to encourage garment sewing and was started years ago. Now in its ninth year, it is a very popular sewing celebration that happens on many social media platforms. It is the creation of Zoe from So Zo, What Do You Know. She is a sewist living in the UK and she often blogs about garment sewing and sustainable sewing.

Me Made May is a unique event in that each participant really sets up their own challenge. Many, many of the sewists will challenge themselves to wear only their handmade clothing each day of the month (some even take it as far as handmade underwear, camisoles and/or bras). Others may set a personal challenge to wear something handmade once each week. Others might set out to create some handmade garments during the month. There really isn’t a right or wrong way to go about it. I also like that there is no judging, no voting, no huge prizes driving everyone. People share their makes, their sewing ideas and plans with each other – usually on Instagram #mmm18 or #memademay2018 or by blogging. (Just to give some perspective on the size of this event, it began 6 days ago. As of this writing on Sunday afternoon, there are over 4,000 posts in#memademay2018.) It celebrates a mutual love of sewing – be it incredibly intricate and fitted garments, or a basic t-shirt.

Which is exactly what I made last week!

Several months ago, I thrifted a bolt (yep, I have a lot of it) of this mauve stretch knit fabric. I had no idea what I would do with it at the time but I figured I would think of something. The fabric in general is in great condition. There are a few spots on the selvage that have a small hole which don’t really cause any issue since they are on the selvage. Thinking I wanted to make a t-shirt, I scouted the internet and posed the question on Facebook, asking for pattern recommendations. One pattern designer that was recommended is Blank Slate Patterns. I liked both the look and simplicity of the Blanc T Shirt. You can buy the pattern, or if you are a member of their Facebook group, it is a free download.

The pattern has two pieces. Well actually, it is a pdf download and there are 20 pages to print. But 16 of those pages create two pattern pieces. It is sized from XS to XL. Really, this is a simple process – just takes a little bit of tape and scissors. Not a big deal.

I decided this first round would be a practice session. I purposely cut it out as a size large because it is easier to size down than up. Plus I was hoping for a loose, kind of flowy look? Is flowy a word? Probably not but you know what I mean.

It takes no time to sew front to back. Once I tried it on and decided I liked the fit, I ran a loose zig zag stitch over each seam to finish it off. Really I should have set up the serger to do this and get a nice finish but you know… it was in the closet…. the sewing table was a mess…. it just seemed like to much work. Maybe next time.

After finishing the seams, all that was left was a bit of finish works. Hemming the bottom and the sleeves came next. Finally I finished the neckline with purchased bias tape. The only hiccup in the project was the bottom hem. I ran two lines of stitching and there are several wobbles in the second line. I am not sure why it happened. It doesn’t bother me enough to rip it out though. If I were to want a double stitched line I think I would try using a double needle. I bought one a long time ago but have not yet practiced with it.

I love these little projects because of the quick finish. It is really satisfying to cut out a couple of pieces and then have a t-shirt to wear the next day. I am going to make one more in this pretty black knit that I bought. My plan after that is to make something a bit more challenging. I have two patterns sitting out that I keep looking at and debating which to try first. Stay tuned for more in Me Made May!

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