Dropping the older style

Since I was not wanting to forget the very important thing that I had learned from the size 1 cut tab front shirt that I had recently made, I decided that I should make some more shirts from this pattern to enforce the learned lesson in my brain so I wouldn’t forget it.

So I grabbed another piece of knit scrap from the stash and I got started. This time though, the scrap had actual yardage to it, at just over a yard, and it spoke to me right away as to what embroidery design I should stitch on it.

Because the design I wanted on this shirt is larger than the Mickey Mouse design of the size 1 shirt and I had enough of the fabric, I decided to make a size 3 this time.

As I traced and cut the pattern out, I looked again at the older style of this pattern and the differences from more modern patterns of today. The shoulder seam was actually fitting the shoulder instead of being dropped, and the length of the tab. And with that I had a great idea! I decided to get out my toddler 

Sew Kwik pattern book, trace and cut the kids size 3 t-shirt from it but use the cut tab front from the pattern Sew Easy 117 instead of the Sew Kwik one. I would still have a cut tab front shirt but with more room between the tab and the armpit for the embroidery designs. And since I had enough of the fabric, I decided to make both shirt styles, one with the older non dropped sleeve and one with the newer dropped sleeve. I cut the tab shorter than called for on both shirts because as far as I can tell, the long tab is definitely out of style

The cut tab was much easier to sew this time around bacause of the lessons I had previously learned, and the larger size of the shirt. The embroidering of the designs worked up well and the end results are great. Although I did have I moment of trepidation about the stripes on the sleeves matching the shirt. But as far as I can tell, they can not match and aren’t suppose to match with a set in sleeve. Only on a raglan sleeve pattern can you match the stripes properly. Is this true? Does anyone know any way to do it? On these shirts at least, the stripes are where they are, and be it right or wrong, that is that.

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So, here are the two shirts, one from the older pattern Sew Easy 117 and one from the Sew Kwik pattern book with the cut tab front added to it. Can you tell which one is which? They are very close in size. The Sew Kwik shirt has a little more room in the width of the shirt but that is about the only difference I could see. I really doubt that the wear of the two will be much different to the wearer. With this I have concluded that I can use either pattern with my added changes. Because my Sew Easy 117 pattern is missing the size 4 part and I do not have a size 5 between the two patterns, I will continue to use the Sew Kwik pattern and add the cut tab if I need to make shirts in those sizes. Other than that I will use which ever pattern that I have handy at the time.

Smaller? Yes! Easier? No!

I found it. When I made the purple Snoopy shirts from the pattern Sew Easy 118, I had bemoaned the fact that the smallest size in the pattern was a size 6. As you might know, I prefer to sew tab front shirts with a cut tab rather than a slit tab, so at the time I was wishing that pattern 118 also had smaller sizes. While digging in the pattern box for another pattern, I found the pattern Sew Easy 117, a cut tab front shirt in sizes 1 to 4. Obviously, I don’t remember buying this pattern or where it came from. But I am sure it came from the same thrift store as the pattern 118, and I probably got it at the same time), but somehow it had gotten separated from my other kid’s patterns and I was thrilled to find it again. I knew my next projects would be to make a kid’s shirts from this pattern.

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Setting on top of one of the piles in the stash was this red with stripes single knit fabric. I had pulled it out to make a sleeper from it but since it was just a scrap piece, there was not enough for a sleeper. It was though big enough for this pattern, size 1. I traced the size 1 pieces and quickly cut the pattern out. Once again, because the pattern was an older style, I shorten the tab, not by too much because I didn’t want to shorten it so much that the shirt would go over the kid’s head.

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Confident that I could easily sew up this tiny shirt in minutes, because I have sewn so many cut tab fronts on the husband’s shirt over the years, I started to sew. I was rudely awaken to the fact that the tiny cut tab front was not so easily stitched as he husband’s larger tabs. I learned very quickly to reduce the number of stitches per inch on the sewing machine as I unpicked and rest stitched the tab. The preset stitch length that I normally have my machine set on was to large to get nice even corners for the small tab. I also learned to cut the tab much more carefully. I learned that a larger tab,bigger shirt, is much more forgiving of sloppy sewing. So, my quick sew of this small shirt took a lot more time than expected but was definitely a learning experience.

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The embroidering on this small shirt was also not as fun as on a larger shirt. Most of my designs are approximately 4 by 4 inches. Although I could have squeezed a design that large on the front of this shirt,it would have laid from the tab to the armpit. Not really the look I wanted. So I had to pick a smaller design and even at that I had to pick one the was larger vertically than horizontally. Because I made this shirt with no design in mind to stitch on it, I was not disappointed when I finally picked Mickey Mouse as the finally design for this shirt. In fact, I love the Mickey on the shirt. The colors and Mickey mix well, and of course Mickey Mouse is always so cute.

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In the end, even though this did not turn out to be a quick easy sew, I am still thrilled to have this pattern, a cut tab front shirt in smaller sizes. I am planning to take the things I learn from makings this little shirt and make more.

Purple Snoopy (But Not Grape Flavored)

For the white and purple floral knit fabric that was next in line to be sewn up, I decided on the Sew Easy 118 pattern that I had found hiding in the closet. It is an older pattern that I purchased at a thrift store many years ago. The pattern says it is for a child’s golf shirt, a tab front shirt. The pattern uses the cut tab method, like I used to make for the husband’s shirts, instead of the slit cut method of my newer tab front patterns.

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After figuring out the embroidery issues with the white and purple floral knit, it was time to start the construction of the shirt using this pattern. The previous owner of this pattern had already traced this pattern in size 6, the smallest size for this pattern, so I decided to just make this size and save the tracing time. As I cut the fabric, I started to wish I had spent the time to trace the pattern myself. The previous tracer of this pattern did not care to trace any of the markings. Although this is something I would have done myself in my earlier years of sewing, I have learned over the years that marking grain line, some notches, and other details make the sewing process much easier later on. Now, don’t think that I trace every little notch and mark, but it is just that some of them are now important to me as I sew.

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Because of this being an older style pattern, I did shorten the tab by 1.5 inches from what the pattern showed. I measured the slit tab patterns that I made last and made this cut tab the same length. I also noticed that because this is an older pattern that the sleeves are set in more, on the shoulder, not off the shoulder like newer patterns. This did not cause any problems in the construction, just a different look from the sleeves in the slit tab pattern. This also made the shirt look smaller than normal.

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I decided to have a little fun with the collars on these. So, rather than make a collar from the pattern, I used a purchased collar from the stash on one of the shirts and ribbing on the other shirt. It was fun to change the pattern and make it unique, but I will say I missed the collar on the ribbing shirt. A few sewing sins are hid under the collar but with the ribbing, I had no place to hid these sins so I had be extra careful when I stitched the ribbing on that I sewed straight and ended the seams cleanly.

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The embroidering of the Snoopy’s on the shirts was fun with the puffy foam. I did not know how using purple instead of black to outline Snoopy would look but I like the results a lot. I wouldn’t hesitate in using another color besides black again to outline a design in the future if the fabric and design called for it.

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The double needle hems gave me a bit of trouble on these and I’m still not sure why, but the end results turned out nicely. With the shirts finished, they look small to me, like a size 4 instead of a size 6. But, as I said I am excited to have a little girl wear these shirts, not only to see how the embroidery design wears but also to see how the shirt fits so I can make more. I believe this pattern will become one of my regulars that I use often.