What I wear

A simple striped T

The Historical Sew Fortnightly Stripes challenge has really gotten me in the mood for stripes, whether they are historical or not.

I was even motivated to rummage around in my PhD (project half done – clearly a much more awesome name than UFO, because having multiple UFOs just makes you sound like a conspiracy theorist, while having multiple PhDs just makes you sound…awesome) pile  and fish out a striped T shirt that I’d originally dubbed the ‘Unimpressed T’, because that’s how I felt about it.

Doing my 'Unimpressed' face in the original version

Doing my ‘Unimpressed’ face in the original version

I was so unimpressed that I couldn’t even be bothered to blog about the original version here, though I did post it on the Sew Weekly (said post has now disappeared – very annoying).  I didn’t like the original because the stripes seemed overwhelming, and the neckline a bit unresolved, though I’d loved the same cut in my Gay Red Shirt.

Even Fiss was unimpressed by the shirt as it was:

"I bite things I don't like"

“I bite things I don’t like”

Still, with all this striped happiness happening, and with my Sewing with Knits class coming up, I felt bad having a knit PhD, so I pulled it out of the box it was in, cut 3 inches off the bottom, lowered the neckline, and hey presto:

Yay!  Impressed!

Yay! Impressed!

Neckline resolved, stripes toned down just enough so they aren’t overwhelming, and I am now very happy with the shirt.  It’s going to become another indispensible top – just as soon as it comes off display at Made on Marion

Happy stripe matching on sides and sleeves

Happy stripe matching on sides and sleeves

I can’t believe it took me that long to fix it.  Re-doing it took less than an hour!

Stripes from the back

Stripes from the back

Just the facts, Ma’am:

Fabric:  90cm of mid-weight cotton jersey with added spandex, thrifted

Pattern:  3HoursPast’s Blank Canvas Tee, with some teeny-tiny alterations to the neck, and custom fitted at the sides.

Year:  2012-13

Notions:  Thread

And the insides?  Not finished, because I wanted to show that you could leave this fabric un-overlocked.

Hours:  2 + 1 to fix

First worn?: Sun 17 March, just as a hang around in it top, and to a Wellington sewing bloggers meet up (my first).

Wear again?:  Yes!

Make again?:  Yep, I’ve just offered my sister one.

Total cost:  $2

18 Comments

  1. PhD is so much better than UFO! I may have to start using this, and not just in order to sound smarter 😉

    Cute top, glad you could save it from its undignified beginning. I’m sure Felicity approves now!

    • Isn’t it just! One of my sewing students told me about PhDs instead of UFOs, and I was just delighted and am definitely adopting it!

      And thank you!

  2. Very nice, I am going to have to keep my eyes open for a stripe like that! And the BCT has had a facelift, she’s going to be re-released soon…

    If UFO sounds like a conspiracy theorist, then maybe PhD sounds pretentious. 🙂

  3. Claire Payne says

    Miss Fissy is so en vogue 🙂

    A very modern item for you to make. Looks good.

    • Yeah, the biting look is totally the new pout 😉

      I like modern sewing sometimes – that’s the benefit of living now. I can move between ’30s frocks and ’50s pencil skirts and modern T-shirts as I please 😀

  4. Elise says

    Ha-at first I thought that you were actually undertaking a new degree!

    • It’ll happen! I’m still stuck on picking a topic that I want to be stuck with for 3 years. I guess I have a PhD PhD?

      • Elise says

        HA–I understand that feeling. At least in the UK and many of the commonwealth, a PhD lasts only 3 years. Here, it is 4 at least. But I think the US may have a mixture of research assistant/teaching assistant/funding that extends it out that other places don’t have. But I’m not sure…

      • Elise says

        The PhD PhD Ennui is the hallmark of a true life-long learner!

  5. I think it’s great top. Love the stripe matching. I reckon it’ll get a fair bit of wear too.

    • Thank you! It will definitely get a lot of wear – I do enough walking and tramping and gardening to need a few T shirts, and not just pretty vintage frocks 😉

  6. It’s definitely impressive now! I managed to see the previous version on Sew Weekly, and rather liked it as was, but it’s so much better now, without a doubt.
    I must say I like UFO more than PhD. Maybe because I have so many projects that are not even half done! 😀

    • Thank you! I’m glad someone saw the other post. I’m bummed they are disappearing. It just feels so much better now, before it sat oddly and wanted to twist.

      I tend to get 80% done with a project and then abandon it when I don’t like the way it looks on me. So PhD is nicely modest in that respect 😉

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