Today I want to show off the Fun Tee from Sew by Pattern Pieces. The tee is such a simple, basic staple that is so hard to find in today’s cluttered PDF world. I sewed the tee in the long sleeve option, since we are heading into cold weather, using 95/5 cotton lycra knit from Lillestoff fabrics.
Lauren Wernli, the designer, has been in the clothing industry for 20 years now, and her skills are amazing. She includes as standard features that many pattern designers today do not – notches, sleeves not cut on the fold, hem notches and good allowances, pattern cutting information on each piece and the name of the pattern as well. Each size is both color coded in different, distinct colors, and line style.
The store where you can buy the pattern is here:
Etsy https://www.etsy.com/shop/SewbyPatternPieces/about
Craftsy http://www.craftsy.com/user/8305887/pattern-store
Right in the listing, you can find a collage of tester pics, fabric requirements, line drawings, sizing chart, measuring guide and a finished garment size chart including armhole height.
The Fun Tee features sizes 1-12, and is a fitted tee with four sleeve options – short, long, gathered short and gathered long. The instructions are very straightforward, but very well written. Laura gives tips on sewing with knits, and mashing multiple sizes to get a perfect fit. There is also included a wonderful chart to calculate the amount of stretch in your fabric, so you don’t get disappointed that your garment doesn’t fit after you’re done!
Laura also has a reference chart for which pattern pieces you need for your chosen style, which is great as a reference at a glance. She also walks you through transferring your notches and preparing your body pieces for sewing. She explains how to stabilize shoulders, which even as an advanced sewer I found informative.
The best part of her instructions are the neckband. There are even notches pre-measured and marked, which match up the front center, back center, and both shoulders! There’s no folding and pinning! That is something I have never, ever encountered, and that makes me so sad, that I have missed out on such a wonderful feature. Makes me hate doing the quarters and pinning so much.
The other best part of the instructions is Laura teaches you a production technique for quickly serging your side seams, so that you don’t have to trim threads and worry about them unraveling. Once you learn her technique, you’ll be thirsting for more of her amazing tips and techniques!