Welcome to my monthly 'Free Pattern Friday' feature, where I road test a free sewing pattern or tutorial: sometimes a children's one, sometimes an adult's one. I try to publish these posts every first Friday of the month, timed to provide inspiration for those who plan to get their sew on over the weekend. I firmly believe that, if you pick your projects carefully, sewing doesn't have to be a crazy-expensive way to clothe yourself and your family. Thanks to all the amazing pattern designers who have offered up their hard work for us to enjoy for free.
I guess that sharing another version of a previously road-tested-and-reviewed pattern might be considered cheating! Or at least unhelpful for blog readers who might be on the hunt for new-to-you free sewing patterns to try. Well, in each case, sorry. I have reviewed this pattern before and subsequently I won't be writing a whole new review post. But hopefully you can find some value in seeing which patterns I return to, and seeing what I chose to do differently this the second (or third) time round.
The Pattern:
For the second time I made the Stellan Tee pattern by French Navy Patterns. Thanks, as always, to the designer for sharing this great resource with the sewing community for free. The designer describes it best: 'A modern take on the basic T-shirt, the Stellan Tee has a boxy, slightly cropped fit, proportionally long sleeves (super cute when rolled-up) and a subtly curved hemline'.
What I did differently:
This time I chose a jersey with a very different handle. I picked up this slinky, drape-y, viscose jersey at a London fabric swap last year, which has very different properties to the cotton/elastane jersey I used for my first version. I extended the neck band piece because this fabric isn't super stretchy.
I also decided to create a straight hem. I like the look of the original curved hem when it's untucked (or fully tucked in), but I think it looks a bit odd if you're tucking in just the front bit of the top, which I imagined I'd do with this slinky version.
For speed, I omitted the back neck seam binding. And lastly, I shortened the sleeved by 2cm and turned them up without hemming, and stitched the turn ups in place.
Thoughts:
My favourite part of the Stellan pattern is the neckline. I think it hits the sweet spot of not too low and not too high. This fabric suits the general volume and design ease of this pattern really well, I think. What I'm still not entirely sold on is the squareness of the shoulders, and the way the sleeve seam is dropped down the shoulder. Despite these small misgivings I'm sure, however, I'll get a TON of use from this tee.
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