Does she look like she's shrugging? She is. She's wondering what to do about this poor place we're dwelling in. As the arctic wind whips outside and as she reflects on last summer's frequent, searing winds - she worries a bit and she gathers that worry into her shoulders and tucks them in, up under her hood.
I love the Flashback Tee. This you know. When I started to colorblock it though, I didn't like the way it looked with the curvy arm lines. I wanted the angles, like a raglan tee. You can make your Flashback into a raglan if you like. I used this clever tutorial. It works great. You get the skinny of the Flashback Tee plus the nice lines of a raglan and the speed, oh the speed! The straight lines in the ralan sew are even quicker than the curved ones:)
Then, sometime last year, I discovered that See Kate Sew had made a raglan tee pattern and I love that one too. Awhile ago, I saw this pin and I have been dreaming about this sweet, simple little tee dress ever since. Here is the result...
Road tested...
And this is how we did it...
First, (like the Flashback Hack) trace your pattern pieces onto the middle of the paper. We're going to add width, so you'll need space. I was making a size three but I wanted it to end up dress length, so I traced the size three width and the size five length.**See the note below about the hem length before cutting into your fabric.
Add two inches on the side opposite the fold line. Repeat this for both the front and the back pieces.
Cut out a front, back, and two arms using your hacked pattern pieces and the standard arms for the size you're making. I found these arms to be quite generous - make sure to measure for the proper fit. Next time I think I'll go down a size.
Now we're going to cut out two pieces to gather and layer over the front and back. This is where this little how-to goes a bit whacko... It would be best if you chose to use a knit with a knit for this purpose. However, I couldn't resist the forbidden fruit that results from a knit/woven hybrid and insisted on chopping up a treasured piece of Phoebe Wahl's fabric from Spoonflower. This lead to all sorts of private self-shaming because the finishing was odd and non-traditional.
Ahem, and anyway, here is how you cut out the contrast pieces - be they of the right sort or the wrong.
Place the pattern's fold side (both the front and back pieces) some distance away from the fold. I put them 3/4's of an inch away from the fold to make an extra 1.5 inches for gathering - WIMPY! WIMPY! I think that it would have been nicer to have more swing. Yank on your fabric, think about the weight and the drape. Decide how much you want it to gather... Alternatively, you could MAKE a pattern piece for this purpose by tracing the front and back again, adding the two inch width and then adding some width at the fold line.
When you go to cut these new pieces out, (one piece for the front and one for the back) you'll need to fudge in the neck and the bottom to match the existing cut lines.
Hem the contrast layer - if you like. If you're using a knit fabric for this layer, you could leave the bottom edge raw but if you do that, then cut it shorter than the base layer so that the base layer can peek out. If you're using a woven, though, like I did - hem the bottom. I folded over the raw edge once by a half an inch and then a half an inch again and stitched it down.
Now we'll need to gather the neck piece on the top layer (the layer that you added the extra width to on the fold line) to match the neck of the base layer. If you were using a knit fabric, you could do this by using elastic thread in your bobbin.
After this step is complete, the sewing is child's play. The only difference is that you'll be sewing together a couple of layers of fronts and backs instead of just the one. Pin the front base layer plus the front contrast layer right sides together with the sleeve piece, stitch and so on. I did everything the same way as I would have using the original pattern, just remembering to include the extra layer of fabric. I topstitched the sleeves using a straight stitch - which is, I believe, another knits no-no... But it's holding up so far (sheepish grin).
**One consideration - the hem. I left it raw on the under layer but if you want to hem it and if you want it to peek out from under the top layer, you'll need to do some figuring in the cutting stage.
Honestly, there's a lot about this dress that I'm not that thrilled about. But I loved both the fabrics and I'm comforted by the idea that I'm just practicing. And I'm working in the gap:) More on that idea over here.
I wish that I had used a sheer overlay, but I couldn't get my hands on anything that I liked. And I wish that it were gathered more. I don't like the fit - I think it's a bit too boxy. And I do not like the arms. I want them tighter (my foolishness is the reason for this, should have measured) BUT - the point was to make a dress that was comfy for playing in, good to layer and that helped me to work out a scheme for making a dress like that pin that I loved. It is warm - the bottom layer is a lovely double knit. If both the layers had been in that knit, it would be super cozy. Or it would be beautiful with a lacey handknit layer as the top piece - wouldn't that be gorgeous?
Anyway, I'm going to try it again. And I wanted to share it here as a jumping off point. I think that some good could come of this. I just have to think on it a bit more... Any ideas?
