I have begun to reach for the knit items in my wardrobe almost exclusively after months of working from home. As the weather has warmed up, I have also started to get sick of wearing the same couple of knit tees over and over again, so I realized I needed more knit t-shirts. Stores have started opening back up recently, but when I decided I wanted my next make to be the Halfmoon Atelier La Brea Tee, most were still closed. If there was ever a time I was grateful for my fabric stash it’s now. I had just the fabric for it in my stash. Even better is that it was free from a Seattle Sews fabric swap!
Details
Pattern
Fabric
- Free from a Seattle Sews swap
I’m not sure where it originally came from or what exactly it is, but it’s a light to medium weight knit fabric with very little stretch so it was perfect for this pattern.
Size traced and sewn
- 7
- View A
Pattern adjustments
- None
Construction notes
After sewing a jacket and two button ups, I was excited to sew something with only four pattern pieces. It was also nice to not have to contend with actual sleeves in any way, but the step that took the most time in constructing this garment was the binding. First, you have to make it. At the time, I didn’t have any sort of bias making tool, so I had to press the whole thing by hand which took some patience (for me anyway).
This fabric didn’t have much stretch if any and I pretty much always use my walking foot when sewing knits, so sewing it on wasn’t too bad. The hardest part was finding the right needle to use! For some reason, I had a lot of trouble sewing the last two lines of stitching on the shoulders. I think between all the layers of fabric and my needle getting dull, my machine had a lot of trouble on the shoulder seams. I burned through quite a few needles but I finally got it done!
Final Thoughts
The La Brea tee is such a fun, quick, and easy pattern to sew. The retro style of the sleeves and bound neckline is right up my alley. It’s not your everyday ordinary tee-shirt and that’s what made it such a good addition to my wardrobe. View B of this pattern is designed for wovens, so I plan to try that version out eventually as well.
I love that I can identify a gap in my wardrobe and then (often without having to go anywhere) I can just make it for myself. Having sewing as a hobby I enjoy has been helpful in so many ways lately. I feel incredibly lucky that I can do this from home, get lost in the process, and end up with a new garment in the end!
