Two of my recently completed sewing projects are the Jesse Tee from True Bias. This is a free pattern when you sign up for their newsletter. It's a very oversized tee with both a cropped fit and a longer option. It has a dropped shoulder and a crew neckline and comes in sizes for chest measurement 32 inches - 44.5 inches. It does have a large amount of ease so if you want it to fit a bit tighter you can always size down. This is my perfect lounging t shirt so I couldn't wait to make it. Unfortunately for me I made mistakes on both versions I made...oops. Since they were meant for lounging I just made peace with the mistakes. The pattern itself is quite straightforward and will sew up in a few hours so I recommend it if you are looking for a beginner stretch pattern.
For my first version, I made it in a burgundy colour. The fabric I used for both versions is from Oh Sew Crafty, via etsy. It's quite a thick jersey (95% Cotton 5% Elastane) which I was very impressed with as it has a bit more rigidity and feels higher quality than some of the thinner jerseys. I chose to do the cropped view for both versions since I prefer cropped outfits for my body type. I made size 12 since I have a chest measurement of approx 39 inches. I used the stretch stitch on my machine. The pattern calls for a ribbing fabric to be used for the neckline. The one I ordered first ended up being wayyy too thick but against my judgement, I sewed it anyway and it looked so bulky and awful that I had to unpick. Oh dear. Anyone who is used to sewing with jersey will know how hard it is to unpick a stretch stitch without tearing the fabric. So a long while later I had unpicked but now there were a few holes in the seam allowance. I decided to make a new neckband using the jersey fabric I already had. Mistake number 2 here. I knew the jersey was likely less stretchy than the ribbing fabric but just went ahead anyway with the suggested length. This resulted in quite a tight and puckered neckband so the t-shirt is not as neat as it could be around the neckline. But at that point I just thought who cares, it's just a t-shirt and I planned to make another anyway.
The finished version 2 in Navy. See the error in the left photo!
Attempt number 2 was in navy. This time I was more prepared and found a much lighter-weight ribbing fabric that was perfect from CraftyGirlByMaria. I guess my head was in the clouds this day because the sewing was going very well but then the big mistake of this project happened. I remember I said to myself to baste the neckband on first with an easier to unpick stitch and then I'll be fine if I need to unpick. Well, I forgot that advice. I went straight to the stretch stitch, and when I was done I thought it looked great...until I noticed I'd put the neckband on back to front. AAAAggggghhh. I ran to my partner and asked him to find the error and he spent ages looking because he knew there was something wrong. Eventually, he guessed the problem but since he took so long to find it I could not be bothered to unpick again and risk tearing the fabric like I did last time, so I just topstitched it as is and called it a feature. They are just for relaxing in after all! Unique at least!
Excuse the wrinkles please, they had already been bundled into a drawer at this point!
This pattern is fun to make and a nice palate cleanser if you've been working on more complex projects and want something to whip up on a weekend. There was no fitting required for me since it's oversized. Note that the cropped version is very cropped. This is fine for me, but if you like a slightly longer cropped shirt consider lengthening it. Overall, this is a great FREE pattern and I recommend it if you are more careful than me when attaching neckbands!
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