In honour of Sewing Indie Month I wanted to try some patterns by new to me independent designers. I was curious about SBCC, short for Skinny Bitch, Curvy Chick.
Their logo made pretty clear what category to choose. At least, I thought so. What I initially failed to notice was the Curvy Chick line was designed as plus size for petites. At 5'8 I don't qualify as petite. Plus size? Depends on the sizing, but usually not. There was no in between (Curvy Bitch?), but there was a free pattern available for downloading. Enter the Tonic tee for testing. I also had some end of the bolt cotton jersey, bought at the recent Stoffenspektakel. Perfect match.
At first I silenced the 'petite' alarm bells by telling myself I was after a fitted, short tee that would go well with my Mabel skirt. Tight and short were fine. Silly mistake. Some quick measuring later I knew the waistline of this pattern hit me over two inches above my natural waist. SBCC to the rescue. On their site it says: 'Not a petite? No problem! SBCC patterns are easily modified for taller girls as well.' I cut the pattern above the waistline, added two inches and hoped for the best.
Such a simple project is perfect for some sunny cutting, pinning and basting in the garden.
The instructions for adding the neckline trim came as a surprise, but I followed them closely cause new patterns, new rules and you never know when you'll pick up some interesting trick.
SBCC tells you to close just one of the shoulder seams, add the trim and then close the remaining shoulder. You end up with a double layer of trim at that shoulder, causing unnecessary bulk. Also the directions tell you to topstitch the neckline binding to the back to prevent from poking out. No bulk and no poking out when I use my preferred method so I'll stick to that.
The pattern instructions were simple but clearly illustrated. No mentioning of stabilizing the shoulder seams, which I did anyway by using clear elastic. For the hem and finishing of the neckline I used a twin needle.
I'm pretty happy with this Tonic tee!
Yesterday I was wearing my new shirt while enjoying Sunday lunch in the garden.
Afterwards my youngest daughter agreed to take some pictures of me in a 'every day casual' setting. Why not in my natural habitat, taking care of the foxgloves?
Okay. Next.
Uhh? What does this tell us?
a) I'm too curvy to hide behind a foxglove
b) No more denying, daughter inherited the gardener's gene and got sidetracked
c) Blame the Chardonnay
One last picture to show this shirt is in heavy rotation. A real everyday casual asset!
Happy Indie Sewing!
Actually, the foxglove is great camouflage - you can't quite tell where Marianne and the foxgloves begin and end, with the lovely pinks in your top.
ReplyDeleteAll round, a great success story with a happily wearable outcome:)
I love your top, the fabric is so pretty. Haven't made the Tonic-tee yet. It is downloaded, printed and taped together. That's as far as I got :)
ReplyDeleteSounds like you arrived at the point where the fun starts! There's no stopping me when I bit the bullet and taped the pattern. (Actually I glue it, I roll the pattern after tracing. Glue behaves better when rolled)
DeleteLove it! Very nice combination with your cardigan! And I opt for c, blame it on the wine! ;-)
ReplyDeletelovely print! it looks like you've made a great basic t-shirt. I actually love the SBCC patterns- I'm close to your height but i am super short-waisted so I haven't had to make any adjustments! Haven't tried the tonic-tee yet though.
ReplyDeleteI found your blog through the Dressed to the Nines category for Sewing Indie Month where my girls are entered as well. My do we love your Anna dress. You've inspired us to try that pattern someday when it's back in stock! I had a lovely time reading through your blog this evening.
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