Sewing Project – Simplicity 7499

I was sent the link (Thanks Mary!) to a very interesting interview with Linda Przybyszewski, the author of a new book, The Lost Art of Dress who says that people need to dress for the life they lead.  I think that is something that women do struggle with, as so often the pretty things in the store are for a more glamorous life than most of us lead.  

It took me years to weed out the clothes in my closet that do not match the life I lead, but now I’ve become very careful in choosing.  Because I’m trying to sew the majority of my clothes, I certainly do not want to spend the time on something I’m not going to wear.  My life is very casual, so sportswear separates fit best into my lifestyle.

Last year I fell in love with the tee shirt in the photo after seeing it in Vogue as the “Steal of the Month.”  After choking over the fact that the people at Vogue think a $300+ tee shirt is a steal, I decided that the best option was to make my own.  The problem was finding the right fabric.  Then, as if a miracle, I pulled this great vintage knit out of the Goodwill bins.

Even though I have a recent tee shirt pattern, I went with a vintage one from the 1970s.  I’d made this pattern before and knew it had the correct fit.

A word or two about the fit of tee shirts:  Nothing looks frumpier or sloppier than a tee shirt that is too big, and nothing looks cheaper than one that is too small.  A tee shirt is not a one-size-fits-all garment.  It needs to fit.

I made a few changes to the pattern to better imitate my inspiration.  I widened the neck into a bateau.  I cut the sleeve a tiny bit shorter and angled the sleeve upward.  I made the front slightly shorter than the back and curved the hem.

The only hard thing about making this shirt was the fringe.  I’d never attempted a fringed look with a knit, and it did turned out to be time intensive.   I cut one-inch strips and unraveled one long side using a seam ripper.  I tuned the edged of the tee shirt under and applied the fringed strips over them, encasing the raw edges.  It worked!

This shows the curvature of the hem.

I wore the tee shirt on my recent trip to Greensboro and the Liberty Show and it performed wonderfully.  Here I am in the 1927 Southern Railway Station in Greensboro, a magnificent structure.

Has anyone read the  Przybyszewski book?  I’m tempted to buy it.