19 New Shirts!

 I've been sewing --- a LOT! 19 new shirts have been added to my wardrobe.

Due to a large weight loss I have shrunk out of almost all of my pre-October 2020 wardrobe, from underwear to winter coats. I've bought a few pairs of jeans in the meantime, gradually buying smaller and smaller sizes of my favourite style over the past 6 months, but an update of my tops was very overdue!

Now that I'm no longer hiding under loose, layered clothing I came to the realization that what I really like to wear, that which I'm most comfortable in, is t-shirts --- long sleeved mock necks for cooler months, short sleeved V-necks in the warm summer days. Shopping for such shirts was futile. I don't like having writing and logos on my shirts, and I'm not overly fond of most prints. Add to that the fact that women's t-shirts these days are poorly made of cheap fabric that doesn't last, and are so thin you could spit through them! And colour? I like intense, bold colour in pure hues, nothing muted or pastel, and I can never find what I want in stores! Complicating things is that most stores in this area won't let you try anything on -- because of Covid. Returns are allowed, but what a hassle!

I decided that the only fix for all those problems would be to sew my own t-shirts from a tried and true pattern. I've made Jalie #2805, Women's T-shirts, with great success, many times before, in sizes from my smallest grandchild to me, at my largest. One pattern purchase and an incredible range of sizes (27!) all easily traced and used over and over again. 

Fabricland, the only fabric store in Chilliwack with knit fabric that I know of, didn't have much of a selection of jersey knit fabric. They had colours I don't care for, thin fabric, fussy prints, and high prices. Then one day while in Abbotsford for another reason I stopped in at Overseas Fabrics. Oh my word! What a selection they have! Reasonable prices too! ALL of the above fabrics were found there. I felt like a kid in a candy store. I couldn't choose just one or two. If you don't like my rather bold colour taste, they do have more muted, subtle selections too. 

So after about a month of frequent sewing I now have 19 new shirts! Nine of the shirts are long sleeved mock necks, and ten of them are short sleeved V-necks. 

In most of the colours I made both the long sleeved and the short sleeved versions. I have both styles in Dark Eggplant, Royal Blue, Kelly Green, Lime Green, Yellow, Orange, Red, and White. 

I also have just the short sleeved in Black and Navy. I didn't bother with those in the long sleeves because I already have good store bought turtlenecks in those colours. 

I have just the long sleeved in Hot Pink because, as much as I would have liked a t-shirt that colour there was not enough fabric remaining on the bolt. I'll be watching for a restock though!

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