Liberty Summer Concert Tee for Selfish Sewing Week

This week is selfish sewing week. A week of sewing led by blogger Imaginegnats on Kollabora in which you sew projects for yourself instead of your children. When S saw the T-shirt I made myself she said “But…I wanted that material for my dress!”; I didn’t realise she had secret plans for my stash...I needed to get some selfish sewing in and quickly!

Having recently been pregnant and having had a baby only 8 weeks ago I haven’t really felt like sewing for myself. My body shape has been changing so quickly it felt like a waste of time. I remember after having my first baby I invested in new clothes in the first few weeks after having her (somehow maternity clothes didn’t feel right to wear) and within a couple of months my new wardrobe was huge on me. So this time I’ve hung onto the maternity wear and held off of sewing for me. But it is selfish sewing week so I decided to give it a go and I’m glad I did.

With a rapidly changing body shape and a need for easy access (for feeding), plus a need for a garment that washes well (for baby sick) and needs little/no ironing (for sanity) it seemed like a jersey garment was the best option. I recently bought a load of jersey from C and H fabrics in Winchester including some Liberty print jersey so I set to work. A few months ago I also bought the Perfect Pattern parcel #1 so I used the Summer Concert Tee pattern from Dixie DIY. This bundle is no longer available but keep your eyes peeled as Parcel #3 goes on sale at the end of May. 

I have always steered clear of knit fabrics but recently I took the craftsy course led my Meg Mcelwee from Sew Liberated, it really boosted my knowledge and even though things went wrong at least I had an idea why!

I LOVE the Summer Concert Tee pattern and will definitely make another;  it’s really flattering and perfect for feeding baby in. I would not normally wear something this patterned but I bought this Liberty print from a remnant bin and I really enjoying wearing the finished piece. 

Because I made the Tee from a remnant I only had 1 metre and had to be a bit creative when cutting out, going against the grain for some panels, but it’s a very drapey jersey so it works reasonably well (Can you tell?). The drape of the fabric caused me problems with sewing, it didn’t like a zigzag stitch at all and kept getting chewed up, even with the foot pressure on it’s lowest setting and with a walking foot. In the end I found a triple stretch stitch worked a lot better, but that was after battling with it for ages. Originally I had a sagging neckline too (caused by not stretching the neck piece enough along the front), I didn’t think the fabric would survive unpicking and re-sewing so I turned it in and hand stitched it on the inside, it’s a bodge but it works! 

The best news is that it passed the key test…a humungous baby sick and subsequent wash! I think it’s my new favourite tee.