The Almost Classy Parisian

This project was one that I had high hopes for, but in the end I'm going to have to do some tweaks to make it more like-able. This was the color combo I was happiest about in my stash fabric when I started making t-shirts a few weeks ago, but I wanted to make it in another fabric first to test the fit. When my first Funky Parisian worked out fine, I decided to jump right into my "official" project - The Almost Classy Parisian.

This is the Parisian Top pattern by Go To Patterns, and this is the 5th t-shirt I made in 8 days, lol. I used this awesome raspberry/fuchsia interlock knit that I scored at a thrift store for $1.00. It's a lovely fabric - deliciously soft and comfy. It does have some slight pilling from it being old and changing hands who knows how many times before it came to me - nothing a clothing shaver won't fix though :) The black fabric was actually a pillowcase from a jersey sheet set I bought in the clearance section at Target (like $6.00  for an XL Twin set - awesome!). The jersey is definitely not great (it has the worst recovery ever), but I only needed the little bit of it for the collar, so I figured it would be ok. It did stretch out, so I had to cut some off to match the interfaced piece, but it worked out ok in the end.

Clearly I need to press that sleeve better, lol.

The only thing about this shirt that makes me not love it as much as I thought I would is the fit. This fabric is much drapier than the fabric from my first version, making it cling to the edges of my bra a bit more than I would like as well as causing it to pool around my tummy and just generally looking too big in that area. 

I also think it may be too long - see the pooling of fabric at my lower back? To be honest, I didn't really even want to take pictures of it like this. I wore it to work the day after I made it and it was really just too big all around. Sadly, it wasn't just me who noticed - several of my coworkers (even my dad!) commented that it seemed a bit big. I won't wear it again until I take the bottom band off, give the tummy more shape and cut off the excess length, then reattach the band. It's really not much work, but I just haven't been in the mood. In the end I decided to take pictures anyway just to remind myself for future versions. I will certainly post about this again when I make my adjustments so you can see the difference :) I know once I tweak it, I will wear the heck out of this shirt.

I am particularly proud of the inside of my collar this time around. Last time I had no idea what I was doing and I stretched the neckband unevenly, creating all sorts of problems when it came to finishing it off. Also it drives me crazy to see the different colored neckband in my first version as I wear it - it's a little thing but it makes a big difference to me. So this time around, I made a few changes:

1. Cut the neckband piece in the same fabric as the collar
2. Cut the neckband wider (I doubled the width, but that was a bit much). 
3. Mark the center and try to gauge the where the shoulder seams should hit, and try to pin those places first.

Look ad the difference all these little things made in my neckband! I admit that I did have to cut off some of that extra width I added to the neckband, but it was really nice to have too much rather than too little when it came time to fold the band under and finish it off. The pattern doesn't give any kind of markings on the neckband piece, which I now know contributed to my problems with not stretching my first one evenly. Now that I've attached several other neckbands and used other patterns, I know it makes a world of difference if you know where the neckband should hit the center front and shoulder seams - I highly recommend marking these yourself if you make this top. I also decided to get fancy with my thread when it came time to top stitch the band in place. I used black thread on top and fuchsia thread in the bobbin, helping the stitches to disappear under the collar. I'm really glad I remembered to do this (I just barely thought of it before I used black all the way) because I know that they black thread would have stood out at the notch in the collar at the center front. Who wants a black zig zag line front and center on their shirt? Anyway, I'm ridiculously proud of my neckband :)

So, there's my shirt that I'm a little "eh" over. At least I know I can make little changes to fix the things I don't love, so that's nice. Now if I can just buckle down and fix it so I can wear this baby!

Summary:

Fabric: 2 yards of Fuchsia Interlock Knit from Thrift Store, $1.00; Black Jersey Pillow Case, approx $0.50

Pattern:  Parisian Top by Go To Patterns, $7.50

Hours: About 4

P.S. This is the same fabric I used for the elbow patches on my Cherry, Cherry Plantain - I cut this shirt out at the same time as that shirt, then used the scraps from this to cut the patches. I wanted to make sure I would have enough for both projects, which turned out to be a non-issue as I still have a decent chunk left. Better safe than sorry! Who knows what it will be next :)