Meet Beatrice, she is my dressform and my darling Richard lugged her out of the storage unit a few weeks ago to assist me. I’ve been working on

on my Pattern Master Boutique for Knits and getting really excited at the possibilities. I have a nice selection of knits to use and now there are some great knits available at reasonable prices. For the sloper, I used a rather heavy knit and really loved the draft. For the top, I used a rayon blend slub knit that was very flimsy and difficult to work with. The ‘hand’ on the knit is delightful though. It feels luxurious to wear and the drape is wonderful. I went through a three week period of procrastination on the neck as the fabric kept curling and I had trouble getting it even. At one point, I tried a ruffled neck and really didn’t like the look. I ended up serging a self fabric band doubled wrong sides together and then bringing the band to the right side of the shirt and using the coverstitch on top. I have more of this fabric in other colors and next time I will use a narrower cover stitch. The fabric ‘tunneled’ pretty bad with the wide coverstitch. I constructed the whole shirt on my Babylock Evolve Wave.

I love the way Marty describes her tee shirt construction tips. I used a similar order to my shirt as Marty

Marty’s Little Corner

I used a 4 thread safety stitch on my serger and stay tape for the shoulders. (Since I had so much trouble with the neckline, next time I will serge only one shoulder then apply the neck band) Then I applied the neckband.

I then changed to coverstitch and stitched the neckband down. I stitched the hems in the sleeves and the bottom of front and back.

I then changed back to the 4 thread safety stitch ; applied the sleeves and sewed the side seam. Shirt complete!

I love reading hints and tips about knits. Sandra Betzina’s Power Sewing Toolbox has some great hints and tips about sewing with knits.

I also love Nancy Zeiman’s DVD “Sew and Go Knits” available at Nancy’s Notions.

Marcy Tilton’s “Easy Guide to Sewing Tops and Tee Shirts” has several good tips and ideas for making great tee’s.