I can finally show you my completed Stanway T-shirt made from a gorgeous jersey knit fabric from Minerva’s core range. I love the quality of this jersey it’s so soft and a really good weight making it a joy to work with. I was very kindly gifted this fabric by Minerva as part of their ambassador programme.
I’ve fancied trying the Stanway ever since I first saw it in Jenny‘s book ‘Ahead of the curve’ and have also been wanting to try ladder lace inserts so the two ideas have come together. I wouldn’t of ever thought of using ladder tape in a jersey raglan top as in my mind the fabric would need to stretch and the tape doesn’t, but I have a top from Marks & Spencer‘s that has this and so I thought I’d give it a go. Thankfully I can report, that are no stressed seams and it has worked. I presume this is because this particular seam doesn’t actually need to stretch.
I’m trying to push myself a little more with my projects, so I also decided to add an appliqué to the front of the top. This was also a good opportunity to use up some of my scraps. The leftover Inky Grove fabric from a previous project was perfect for the butterfly design I’d chosen.
As with all Cashmerette patterns The Stanway is designed for a curvy figure so I didn’t need to do an FBA I simply graded the pattern out around the stomach and hips.
The first job was to appliqué the butterfly design onto the T-shirt. (I used my Brother Embroidery machine for this). I knew that I couldn’t make too large a design as the fabric across the chest really does take a lot of stretch and any kind of appliqué would hinder this. By placing the design at the top of the bust this has ensured there is still plenty of stretch where it’s needed.
Hubby had already kindly cut out the fabric so I had to spend a good amount of time, ensuring that the design was exactly in the right place as I didn’t have any spare material if I made a mistake. Fortunately it stitched out fine and I was really happy with the result (you can see a video of my machine stitching the design in a previous review).
The ladder lace insert was surprisingly easy, I reduced my seam allowance by the width of the tape so as not to alter the proportions of the top.
I sewed all the seams on my overlocker and the majority of my hems with my coverstitch machine. My coverstitch machine did have problems halfway through, and I had to resort to using a twin needle in my ordinary sewing machine for the neckline. Thankfully I was able to get the machine working correctly again and finish the rest of the hems. I’m much prefer the look of hems done this way, rather than on the standard machine.
I’m really please with the end result and will definitely be using this jersey again.
(Image description : there are six images taken from different angles of Yvonne, seated in her wheelchair in her conservatory. She is wearing black boots, blue jeans and a navy blue three-quarter length Raglan sleeved top. On the front of the top is an appliqué of a butterfly).
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#IWearMyOwnClothes, #CurvySewist
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