I ran across this cute 1970s knit back in the early days of Etsy when everything there was a tremendous bargain. I think I paid about $5 for a piece that was large enough for a tee shirt, but I was amused when I received the fabric and the seller had neglected to remove the Salvation Army tag showing she had paid 99 cents for it.
This type knit was popular in the 1970s, and I can clearly remember using a piece to sew up a “hot pants” jumpsuit that had a front zipper. Amazingly, we were not allowed to wear pants to school, but culottes were permitted, and I somehow got away with wearing it. But I remember the project so well because of the trouble I had getting the stripes to match across the zippered front. It was a real ordeal, and I finally gave up and put the zipper in by hand.
The memory of that sewing adventure was brought to mind by my latest project. It was just a simple tee shirt with raglan sleeves, but no way could I get the stripes to match across the sleeve. According to the illustration on the pattern envelope to should have worked, as a striped version was shown, but after trying all the tricks in my sewing arsenal, I just gave up and cut it so that the bottom of the sleeve matched the bodice.
To make the mis-matching less jarring, I covered the raglan seams with a strip of ribbon. I’m telling myself that makes it all better.
I used Simplicity 7499, a vintage pattern from the 1970s that I‘ve sewn quite a bit. I should have realized the stripes would not match, as I couldn’t get them aligned in my last effort either.
Now, only one question remains: Can a soon-to-be 60 year old woman get away with wearing a tee shirt with a Scottie dog design?
The Vintage Traveler 