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Hallå envelope tee
Aug. 4th, 2018 08:01 pm I had this wonderful 1m of cotton Lycra in a zebra pattern. It may seem like an odd choice, zebras. But you see, I have Joint Hypermobility Syndrome (never heard of it? There’s a lot of info on it here). Those of us with it often refer to ourselves as zebras, because of the old adage “if you hear hooves, think horses, not zebras” - we tend to baffle medical professionals for years, who think all our symtoms are not related to each other, until someone eventually puts it all together and figures out we are not suffering from the usual suspects (horses), so it may be something weird (zebras).
Anyway, I was wondering what I could manage to do with just one metre of fabric, when I’m usually a large size. Enter the Hallå envelope tee, which looks amazing when using a panel for the front, for example. So I figured I could use the zebra fabric on the front, with a solid colour for the back, bands, and sleeves.
Sizewise, I am between the 24 and 26 - I ended up cutting a 24 you, graded to a 26 at the waist and hips.
Good news is, I managed to cut two fronts (one for hemming, one for banding) and one set of short sleeves from the zebras. I then manage to cut two backs, all front and back neckbands, the waistband for the banding front/back and another set of short sleeves.
Bad news is, I cut them upside down, so the zebras will have their hooves in the air. Oh well.
Overall, the instructions are easy to follow, although they are designed for serger. I also noticed a few things could be added to make the tee easier to make - such as “make sure that the tail of the neckband that is brought from the back to the front is tucked in the sleeve seam”, which I learnt by not doing just that in the first one.
I used lightning stitch for all the straight seams, and also for the topstitching of the bands to the front and back. I turned the hems twice, one with lightning stitch, the second with three step zigzag. I know I can leave edges exposed with knits, but I much prefer the fully encased ones. I did the three step zig zag when attaching the band to the bottom, in order to get more stretch - we’ll see whether that actually helps or hinders
I did hemmed sleeves on both shirts. The first one I did my usual way (side seam first, then hem the sleeve), which ensured that the hem would look neat even if things didn’t match up exactly. For the second, I followed the actual instructions in the pattern (hem first, then side seam), which lead to having to stretch things and not exactly match other seams to get things to mostly align. So, for the next set, I’ll be doing things my way...
From a quick try, I think I prefer the banded version, but the hemmed version also looks good. Sizewise, I think I got it right, and the lenght sits just where I like my tshirts (i.e. way below my trouser waistband!)
Photos will follow!
Anyway, I was wondering what I could manage to do with just one metre of fabric, when I’m usually a large size. Enter the Hallå envelope tee, which looks amazing when using a panel for the front, for example. So I figured I could use the zebra fabric on the front, with a solid colour for the back, bands, and sleeves.
Sizewise, I am between the 24 and 26 - I ended up cutting a 24 you, graded to a 26 at the waist and hips.
Good news is, I managed to cut two fronts (one for hemming, one for banding) and one set of short sleeves from the zebras. I then manage to cut two backs, all front and back neckbands, the waistband for the banding front/back and another set of short sleeves.
Bad news is, I cut them upside down, so the zebras will have their hooves in the air. Oh well.
Overall, the instructions are easy to follow, although they are designed for serger. I also noticed a few things could be added to make the tee easier to make - such as “make sure that the tail of the neckband that is brought from the back to the front is tucked in the sleeve seam”, which I learnt by not doing just that in the first one.
I used lightning stitch for all the straight seams, and also for the topstitching of the bands to the front and back. I turned the hems twice, one with lightning stitch, the second with three step zigzag. I know I can leave edges exposed with knits, but I much prefer the fully encased ones. I did the three step zig zag when attaching the band to the bottom, in order to get more stretch - we’ll see whether that actually helps or hinders
I did hemmed sleeves on both shirts. The first one I did my usual way (side seam first, then hem the sleeve), which ensured that the hem would look neat even if things didn’t match up exactly. For the second, I followed the actual instructions in the pattern (hem first, then side seam), which lead to having to stretch things and not exactly match other seams to get things to mostly align. So, for the next set, I’ll be doing things my way...
From a quick try, I think I prefer the banded version, but the hemmed version also looks good. Sizewise, I think I got it right, and the lenght sits just where I like my tshirts (i.e. way below my trouser waistband!)
Photos will follow!
