sewn: renfrew tee
I’ve a backlog of things that I made since September that I was planning on posting in chronological order but we’re going to throw that order to the wind and just share already!
So I made a Sewaholic Renfrew Tee – and I am a lot happier about it that the photos would suggest! I love that Tasia lists the finished garment measurements on the envelope, but I must admit that of the two patterns from her range that I’ve now sewn up (this and Minoru) when I look at the finished sizes and my measurements I size down from the recommended size to get a closer fit.
The fabric came from my Knitting and Stitching Haul in 2010 (already seen in the Kimono Tee I made for my younger sister Christmas 2011) and I had only barely enough left to scrape this tee out of. Those gathers coming from the neckline are because I didn’t have enough fabric left for a full size neckband so I put some little gathers/folds at the front neckline to make it fit, lets call it a design feature yes? It worked well though because I think a longer neckband would’ve left potential for flashing while bending over so I like that its all pulled into a smaIler band. I had also originally been going for long sleeves or at least 3/4 length so you can see how close a squeeze it was with the fabric!
Sizing down makes this quite snug over the shoulders and chest but not uncomfortably so – the beauty of jersey and stretch! – but if I make it again in the future I will give myself a smidge more room around the armholes. And you can see from the way it sits into the waistband, there’s definitely more room around the hips than the shoulders, sticking true to Tasia’s pearshaped pattern ethos.
Overall I’m happy with it. I’ve a neatly finished, functional t-shirt that gets plenty of wear – I just wish it was a bit longer. I’m not particularly tall (I consider myself perfectly average at 5’6″!) but you can see from the draglines that I have it yanked down so the waistband sits past the waistband of my jeans. Not a problem if I’m wearing a longer vest underneath, just another consideration of better results next time!
Really cute! I love this color on you!
thanks Ginger, makes a change from black/grey
Cute Renfrew! Love the boots, too!
thanks and thanks! the boots are unfortunately on their last legs with more than a little leakage in wet weather!
I love your Renfrew, especially as you managed to sew it from so little fabric – laying out your pattern pieces must have taken a bit of figuring out!
Thanks for the fabric shop recommendations. I don’t get to Dublin much, so I find I have to rely on websites. Two that come to mind are Volksfaden.de ( their Stenzo cotton jersey is good t-shirt quality, not drapey and washes well) and Raystitch.co.uk ( good selection of Liberty jersey and I have some of their organic cotton jersey, a heavier weight that I haven’t used yet!). Both sites have 20% off sales once or twice a year so the fabric doesn’t work out too expensive.
Oops, I’ve waffled on a bit, but you might find the info helpful
Angela
thanks for the online shop tips, going to pop an order in for some samples
This looks great, and good to hear your sewaholic sizing comments – I am about to cut out the Minoru and am somewhat stressed about the size, as I don’t match the sizes on the envelope at all!
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