I’ve had Pattern Magic Volume 3 for eons and haven’t actually made anything from it, although I have serious interest in a couple of the patterns. I decided I needed to remedy the situation and started with the sloper.
I am sure that slopers aren’t meant to be made into actual clothes, and I started out with a scrap of blue knit and then couldn’t bear to waste it, so I added some odds and ends from a Potter Textiles $5 scrap bag and I had me a very handy t-shirt.
This is a bit of an odd pose, but I was out in the bush collecting she-oak nuts for a dyeing experiment and I didn’t want to get my knees dirty.
In the end I gave up on the clean knee quest. I found a load of the nuts, which I immediately threw into a brew (more of that in another post) 
The contrasting bands and sleeves were tiny scraps of fabric. I had made the t-shirt with a shorter front because of a serious fabric shortage, so added a long band and then liked the effect so added a narrower band in the same fabric at the back. I hadn’t noticed the weird effect of the lines on the fabric until I looked at this photo. Trust me, it’s all quite straight.
The sleeves are the same fabric in a different colourway. When I felt the fabric, it was so luxurious that I was convinced it was a poly blend, but a burn test shows it to be a wool blended with some other natural fibre. I have to say that the whole shirt is wonderful to wear and I have worn it at least once a week for about a month. It launders like a dream and needs no ironing. The perfect t-shirt in my opinion!
Keeping in mind that this is a sloper, I am going to make a few adjustments before I use it as the basis of a “real” garment. I think I’ll do a sway back adjustment and the armholes need to be made a bit longer, which means that the sleeves will need to be altered too. I also had to guess the length of the neckband and I might make it a smidge smaller next time. Having said all that, this is already a favourite t-shirt and I will make a few more with long sleeves as layering pieces for winter.
In a nutshell: Pattern is the sloper from Pattern Magic 3. Fabric is a lovely 100% cotton knit that I’ve had in my stash for a long time, combined with two different colourways of a wool blend from a $5 scrap bag. Jeans are really old RTW ones that I altered to fit me a bit better. Shoes are Timberland bought in Upsala, Sweden.
Magic is the word! I can imagine your joy when you discovered this splendid wool blend in the scrap bag and then the fire test confirming the luxurious feel of the fabric – wow! The wavy effect on the lower part of your t-shirt is fabulous. It gives personality to the simple line of the tee. Can’t wait to see your dyeing experiment with she-oak nuts. Last summer, I attended a workshop on natural dyes and “brou de noix” (which must be what you’ll do with these nuts) produced a nice clear beige effect on natural cotton.
Ooh, have you done much dyeing Hélène? I got a lovely coffee colour with Eucalyptus leaves and I’m almost ready to blog a bracken experiment.
Not much self-taught experiment, indeed. This workshop showed me that vegetal dyes are not as easy as I thought. For most vegetal dyes, you have to prepare the fabric with a mordant (something like an etching solution) and the final colour was never sharp, except for indigo. You also have to know that it won’t last if you wash the fabric with the regular laundry. But, the experiment was fun and I got a beautiful indigo scarf. Let me send you a pic!
Yes, I’d love a pic. I used the she-oak nuts as a post mordant. Eco dyeing is surprisingly complex but it is fun to do!
Wow, I am working hard to try to get effects like that on some Tilton tee shirts. Yours is a serendipitous success. My problem is severe limits on availability of nice jerseys for a nice price.
Yes, the navy blue is soft and supple, and then the contrasting bits are divine. I might have to investigate more of the scrap bags…
Great tee-shirt. Very Marcy Tilton-esque.
Yes, I think that Marcy would approve 🙂
Like this tee and it definately looks the perfect peice go bush!
Love the simplicity of t-shirts, easy to wash and wear. And this one looks
tres glam!
Thanks Roma!
Great use of the sloper and the added contrast makes it a very wearable t-shirt.