Friday, July 25, 2014

Striped Kirsten Kimono Tee

Totally late to the Maria Denmark party is still better than never, right?  This is the Kirsten Kimono Tee, Maria Denmark’s first pattern and it’s a freebie to boot!  Easy to make and easy to wear it makes a great wardrobe staple.

Sometimes being a lazy seamstress pays off.  I had downloaded this pattern seemingly forever ago, printed & taped it together.  But I never traced it.  Fast forward to a version 7(!) being released that made me much happier.  (Downloaded not as quite forever ago!)  Now there are 8 sizes and they’re laid out with each size being a different color.  Oh yeah, I printed it out on legal sized paper as I worried last time little bits were cut off when using letter sized.  This time around I immediately traced and added seam allowances.
 


Now let’s talk fabric!  I had originally ordered this to make my mom a nightgown for Christmas.  Only it didn’t fit right so I debated adding side panels before realizing I had enough to recut.  Which was great as I realized that it would drive me batty trying to match the stripes across the solid inset.  Yeah, I think about those kinds of things.  Good thing stripes don’t have a top or bottom as I was able to flip the old nightgown upside down and squeeze out this tee.  So yea for not wasting fabric!  To give it some interest I cut the neckband so the stripes went in the opposite direction.
 
Since it’s just two pieces and a neckband the construction goes super quick and was mostly done on my serger.  I used clear elastic on the shoulder seams just in case and out of habit, although it isn’t mentioned in the directions.  I did baste the side seams together using my walking foot to be extra sure all my stripes lined up.  Then it was just a couple more trips through the serger and the double needle treatment and bam!  I had a brand new shirt.

I guess I really want you to check out my stripes
This was actually a test version as I have some parrot burnout jersey this would be perfect in.  A kimono top can be the ideal pattern for fabric with a design you don’t want to break up with things like extra seams.  I’ve worn this tee several times since making it and really like the fit.  Next time around I won’t change a thing. Although at some point I might attempt a long sleeved version.   To sum things up, if you haven’t tried the goodness that is a Maria Denmark pattern, this is a great introduction.  Now to try out the other patterns of hers I have waiting...