Two T shirts for summer - McCalls M6614 and self drafted

I decided my other half needs some new Tshirts. This is not the best top I have made for him. Its the same pattern as this T shirt I made here, McCalls M6614.



This time I made a smaller size for Mick but its still a bit too big so next time I will go down a size again. Eventually I will make the right size for him.

I have real problems it seems with pattern sizes both for me and for him. Its not so difficult when you try on RTW cos you just buy a diffferent size and you can guestimate when you see the garment on the hager but when its a pattern that you have to sew up it well nigh impossible to guess correctly and the pattern details are so often wrong it seems. I find most patterns come out bigger than the pattern sizing says it will.


I decided the fabric lent itself more to a normal T than to a hoody hence making a different version of the pattern.


It seemed even bigger before I added the neckband.  Incidentally I am quite pleased with that. After the last few weeks where I have been having quite a few disasters this top has actually come out reasonably Ok despite the sizing. I top stitched not quite in the ditch for this but next to it using a twin needle. Well the twin needle is why its not quite "in the ditch" but it works. If I had not run out of thread half way round it would be even better but there, it seems I am incapable of making anything that is "perfect". Maybe one day.





So this fabric was an ebay bargain. I do like ebay although its always a bit of a risk when buying fabric etc. This was sold as mesh but its actually quite a good quality sports fabric. Polyester but possibly with some lycra. I am unsure, but it has a good return to it. Wear will show I suppose. 5.5m for 99p tho' you cannot really go wrong.

I had some problems with the tension tho' as you can see on the back seems. The tension gets a bit better as I carried on sewing. Still I expected this to be a unwearable muslin because I never actually intended for this to be seen. It was  atrial with both fabric and to try to make the right size and the fabric was so cheap I thought it would be worth making several tops until I get the correct sizing for him but as it happens he ended up keeping this top on all day so obviously not a complete waste of time. The tension problem is probably down to me breaking my machine. I broke a needle a few weeks ago and at the same time bent the upper looper.

When I investigated about getting it fized it was only £20 extra for a completely new overlocker so I cannot afford to fix the thing. My clever partner bent it back and it worked but the tension seems impossible to completely sort out now. I managed to improve as I sewed with this item but its a bit hit and miss because the instructions in the manual no longer count really. Right now I cannot afford £170 - £200 to buy a new one or repair this one so I have to make do. Its still sews but its less perfect than it was. Something to do with the distance between needles and looper I think but without a second machine of the same type to copy its just guesswork to know what to do to correct this. It is only £20 for a new looper but I would still need a tool to work out the distance and this seems unavailable at least in my initial googling attempts to find out. I did find out the looper undoes with an allen key in the top which is not immediately obvious from looking at the machine but thats as far as I have got with me fixing this so rather than pay for someone to fix this machine I will buy a second machine at some point but this is not possible right now. So for now I just have to either give up sewing or make do best I can. I should make the final version of this top with better tension since I managed to fiddle with it and make it much better on the front seams as you can see. So for a muslin this is not so bad and is wearable anyway which is encouraging after the last few weeks of disasters.

 Maybe I should just stick to making easy things and give up on any challengng stuff. Or perhaps my standards have gone up and I am aiming higher which really can only be a good thing but does mean for more disasters or at least potentially imperfect makes.


 

The second top is self-drafted - by cutting round an old T shirt which I love.  I had a few scraps left over from the godet dress I made last week so I made this. Its slightly longer than the original top but is so basic its silly. Its based on my Missimo Batman top which is from the early 2000s. I have loved this top so much.

To be honest I reckon if I make another of these I will make it the original length since the new one hangs slighty weird. It was from the "show your belly button" era but making it longer probably needs a slight change in shape since the new top slighlty rucks up on my belly. Must be the shaping is meant for the short look. I hope it will hang better once worn a few times. Despite that I can see me wearing it loads this summer. 

Its a raglan but does not even have proper neck band and all the hems are just twin needled but with no actual hems. All edges are just raw. I really must investigate cutting with a rotary blade because this would be neater then but this was cut with my ancient and rubbish blunt scissors. I have needed to replace these for months. Its now getting to the point where its replace or stop bothering trying to sew.

I was quite pleased with how this edge stitching turned out tho' the armholes are not as good at the neck and hem. I got a bit close to the edge of the fabric and they tend to curl under a bit

 I think this little top will be good addition to my summer wardrobe.

Thanks for visiting

Bracken