Camper Tee

Pretty close, huh?

This isn’t my first project of 2014, but my last project of 2013, which I finished ten days ago, but couldn’t find the time to photograph in between holiday activities. You may have seen the sneak peek I posted at the end of the picture overview of my projects of 2013.

The fabric is this adorable cotton jersey knit with a retro VW Camper print from de Stoffenkamer (not available anymore, I’m afraid). It was quite nice to work with in that the edges didn’t tend to curl and it was pretty stable, yet I almost lost my mind when cutting because the print was a smidge off grain, which made it impossible to both place the pattern pieces on grain and keep the campers horizontal. I chose to keep the campers horizontal because it really jumped out at me otherwise, yet I was afraid it would cause the tee to hang funny. But it’s actually subtle enough that it looks totally okay, phew!

With everything going on, I didn’t even try matching the pattern at the side seams of course, but I don’t think it’s obvious at all on the finished tee.

The pattern is Sewaholic’s Renfrew, which I cut in a size 4, one size smaller than my measurements, because I wanted it to be closer fitting, and I’m really happy with the fit. I omitted the hem band (stitched the hem with a double needle) and I cut my own neck and sleeve bands, in off-white cotton ribbing. The sleeve bands provided in the pattern were too wide for my taste, and the neck band seemed so hugely long I don’t know that it would have sat properly.

Other than that I made no modifications, that’s the joy of working with knits! Also, this was my first time using my new serger and I must say, even though it’s definitely not indispensable to sew knits, it still makes for a much cleaner finish.In any case, I can see myself wearing this tee a lot as I think it will look very cute tucked in my Hollyburn, Beignet and Chardon skirts. And I’m pretty sure that this is won’t be my last time using the Renfrew pattern!