Practical Sewing - Results #1

At the beginning of the month I publicly announced my intention to undertake some practical sewing during September. I find this sort of pronouncement can be dangerous - normally I get totally distracted by other projects and then at the last minute have to scrabble to get things finished on time. However, for once I am on track and am delighted to present the first results of my practical sewing plans.

I whipped up these two t-shirt from jersey in my stash, using Sewaholic's Renfrew pattern. I've used this pattern before, and was really pleased with the results. Indeed the Renfrew on the right is very similar to the first renfrew I made two years ago - which just goes to show my tastes haven't changed that much. 

I like both versions, but I'm particularly found on the blue horses. I made a couple of changes to the pattern. Because I was using a darker colour jersey for the trim I thought there was a danger of this showing through the main fabric. To avoid this I applied the blue edging like binding, tucking the edges in and top stitching it into place, which produced a really nice finish. This was also the second of the t-shirts I made and I think I've got the fit a bit better, although this is probably also because the fabric has a bit more stretch in it.

So, in these two tops I'm half way to completing my September challenge, and I've used up some fabric from my stash which has been lurking there for months. Even better, there was enough fabric left over to make an even more practical garment - a pair of pants.

I've made a few of these in the last couple of months using Butterick Patten 6031, designed by Gertie. It's a really good pattern, quick and simple and very comfortable. Plus I now have matching pants and t-shirt, what's not to love?