This month for my Year of Stash Projects I have had another try at making a t-shirt pattern that fits me well. My last one was pretty close and looked like it just needed a few pattern adjustments to be perfect so I decided to try making a toile using some beige cotton knit fabric from the stash. A few of the pattern adjustments have worked out well but sadly not all. It seems this month instead of a new shirt pattern I have some “learning experiences” to write about 😀

The first mistake was in using much lighter weight knit fabric for the toile than for my t-shirt. This meant that the toile fabric has a different drape and doesn’t spring back into shape when stretched. As a result, despite my adding 2 inches to the bust with a Full Bust Adjustment it is still far to tight across the chest. My shoulder adjustment worked out ok, although a little out of alignment, and the hem is now level, although I haven’t finished it off. Unfortunately it still looks far from a good fit and I am not willing to cut this pattern from any other fabric until I get this fit issue sorted out.

In these photos I can also see some fit issues with the back of the t-shirt but I think these all come from the same basic problem, I need a much bigger bust adjustment!

I’m going to put this aside for now and try to finish off the cot quilt I am making first. Then I think it is time to try a different pattern, in fact I might even just try drafting one myself from a t-shirt I have that already fits and doesn’t have the same issues. But this time I will pay close attention to the knit weight, stretch and springiness.