A Hemlock, briefly


This is a short one, guys. Literally.


It's a Grainline Hemlock tee, and my word, I love this pattern. Such an easy sew, the one-size-fits-all fits me perfectly, and, best part of all, it's free! Thank you so much for your generosity, Jen of Grainline, and any angsty feelings about side bust darts are completely forgotten.



For this version, I cropped the pattern quite a lot, on the advice of my husband (the man has opinions) and the style gurus I can now carry round in my pocket thanks to Instagram and the internet. God bless modern technology, y'all. My plan for next time is to lengthen the pattern a bit into a dress/tunic, because that was working well as a potential look too. 

This black and gold stretchy, stripey knit that felt fancy enough to make me think I could dare to bare my usually well concealed midriff, came from the bargain basement of Misan Textiles. That place is a dream, but I do hope someone a bit less intimidatingly supercilious is on the checkout next time I visit. Then I might actually work up the courage to ask what the heck the fabric I'm buying is actually made of, because I have no idea what's in this. It feels lush and went through the wash well though, so ignorance is bliss in this case. 


My attempt at stripe matching turned out pretty OK, I think. The fabric walked a bit as I sewed it up, so it's off by a couple millimetres down the side seams, but I can live with that. It's no worse than my shop bought stripey tops! I'm also pretty pleased with my attempt at a neckband, especially given that I first sewed it up inside out and spent an entire evening cursing, unpicking and worrying I'd stretch the neckline out beyond recognition in the process of messing it about. Because I altered the neckline to make it more of a boat neck (I used the Coco pattern to help with that), I had to guesstimate my own neckband length, and judging by how it stands up off my shoulders a bit at the side seams, I reckon I didn't make it short enough, so it's not stretched tightly enough to lie flat. Maybe I need to make it shorter & stretch the neckband a bit more as I sew next time?


Because this blog is nothing without a healthy dose of Awkward Photography, here's one my husband has titled Woman Afflicted by Itchy Head, Crotch and Bad Smell. I'm so winning the next season of Top Model, you guys. And here's my usual self-timed photography companion. Because it's the internet, and there must be cats.



16 comments:

  1. This is so cute!!! I love the cropped length!

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    1. Thank you! The (opinionated) husband has great taste. ;)

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  2. Your stripe matching looks great and I love this as a cropped version! I've got this and the Plantain & can't decide which to make first!

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    1. Thank you! I've got the Plantain as well, but for some reason the elbow patches make me think of fall/winter. I'm definitely going to sew it up at some point, though.

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  3. Your husbands styling tips came up trumps on this one! I think this will look fab as a dress as well. Thanks also for the obligatory cat pic ;-)
    I have just posted all the free t-shirt patterns I have found on my travels around the interwebs - including the Hemlock. Be great to work through these when I get a machine that behaves with knits!

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    1. Oooh, I will definitely check them out! And it must be my *machine* that's at fault! Seriously. I bought twin stretch and ballpoint needles to try on the hem and it still misbehaved horrendously. I'll continue to blame my machine and feel better about myself. ;)

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  4. Very lovely you are in this top. Strip matching always gets me. Yours looks great. Glad to hear I'm not the only one who isn't sure what my fabrics are really made of :)

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  5. These proportions look amazing on you. I want this whole outfit, and just as I was feeling sincerely dubious about cropped tops on the over 15.

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    1. The styling credit is all Marie's, I should have mentioned that. And crop tops are the thing! Just short enough so you barely see a sliver of midriff - vair grown up, vair sexy.

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  6. I love a man with styling tips! This teeshirt is amazing-- I love that you turned it into a crop top with a simple hack.

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    1. If I show him all these comments his head will explode. (No, he's a good 'un to have round.) And thank you!

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  7. I was also very dubious about crop tops until I remembered: Pencil Skirts! You look slammin' yet professional. BAM!

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    1. Thank you! Pencil skirts really are the perfect partner for them.

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  8. I've been thinking about what to wear with a new pencil skirt and this is a great idea. Definitely some added inspiration to get sewing!

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Who, me?

Who, me?
Hi, I'm Ellebougies. I'm brand new to this sewing lark, but boy am I ENTHUSIASTIC. I also enjoy knitting things. One day I'll stop whinging about the weather.

Work in progress

Work in progress

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