Sew u Home Stretch basic crew neck tee

It seems when I need to get over a break in garment sewing that jersey fabric is the way to go, and the Sew U home stretch book provided the pattern again.  I have been needing some new t-shirts for a while as last summer I sent quite a few misshapen ones to fabric recycling and never replaced them. There are quite a few t-shirt patterns I would like to try out but as I had the Sew U Home Stretch book already I thought I would give the basic crew neck pattern a go first. I am so glad I did as I now have 2 new t-shirts which I know will get worn so much.

Today is the first day of Me Made May, if you don't know what that is then check out Zoe's post here for more information.  I haven't decided on a pledge yet that works for me but I've started the month off wearing my new blue/white stripey t-shirt!

I've just amalgamated my two Pattern Review reviews together below. These two items are the first part of my mini-wardrobe for the Pattern Review contest I mentioned in my previous post  Even if I don't get the rest of the wardrobe done in time for the contest I am very happy to have two new t-shirts to wear!


Pattern Description: Basic crew neck t-shirt

Pattern Sizing: XS - Large. I sewed up the size small and my measurements are b34, w29, h 41.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes. However if I’d used the recommended seam allowance on the sleeve hems I think the sleeves would have turned out much shorter than in the drawing.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. The book gives different construction methods graded easy to hard.  I did shoulder seams>attached the neckband by marking 4 equal points on neckband piece & on neckline then stretching it to fit as I sewed>attached the sleeves>twin needle to hem them> sewed one side seam>hemmed the bottom with a twin needle>sewed other side seam. A very quick sew! I did consider using some kind of tape in the shoulder seams but I didn’t have any to hand & realised that I’m still wearing a T-shirt I made 4-5 years ago without stabilising the shoulders & it's holding up fine.  I also didn't overlock the seams on either of these t-shirts, except on the neck band of the blue and white striped one.  The jersey won't fray and no-one else sees the inside except me so I didn't see much point.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I really wanted a crew neck pattern like an old favourite T-shirt I have. Not too fitted, a bit boxy and this fitted the bill perfectly.

Fabric Used: Version 1. A very stable cotton jersey from a local fabric shop. The inspiration for this T-shirt was actually an old photo of my mum looking very cool in the 70s in a pair of wide legged navy trousers and a pink or purple and navy striped T-shirt. I wish I could find that old photo! This jersey was so nice to sew with. I just made a dress with a viscose jersey and I cannot get the hem to sit nicely, I've tried hem tape, zig zag, twin needle, wooly nylon in the bobbin case! So it was lovely to sew with a fabric that just behaved itself!
Version 2. A lovely cotton jersey (95% cotton 5% elastane - Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified).  This fabric did curl a bit at the edges but not enough that it made it more difficult to sew with.  I found the stretch twin needle, with wooly nylon in the bobbin case, and a slightly looser tension worked well with this and prevented any tunnelling.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:I shortened it by 2.5” and only used a 1/4” hem on the bottom and sleeves instead of the recommended 3/4”. I'm assuming the hem allowances are bigger because it's given for a cover stitch machine.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes I will definitely sew this again, probably not for a wee while though as I have another few T-shirt patterns is like to try out too.

Conclusion: A perfect everyday T-shirt pattern that I feel has already become a TNT pattern for me!