Inari Tee

Hi Everyone! I can hardly believe that we are in the last week of May! I was intending to do Me Made May weekly roundups on the blog, but I haven’t found the time to make that happen. I think I will do a recap of some sort at the end of the month, along with a check in to see how I am coming along with the goals I set for myself this year.

I can tell you right away that one thing I’ve found to be missing from my handmade wardrobe was a basic black tee. I made this colorful Everyday skirt a while back and I constantly struggle with finding something to pair with it. I haven’t really been too sure that the cropped top style was my thing, but I felt like it’s what I needed to wear with this gathered skirt to keep my hips from looking more bulky than they already are.

I’d been pondering the Inari tee dress for a while, since seeing lovely versions from Elena and Trine. These two ladies are so stylish, and I feel like my style is a lot more along the lines of “casual goofball.” I was a little nervous to try out the cocoon dress right away but I thought the cropped version could be the answer to my skirt-wearing dilemma.

I got the pattern from Indiesew and started to work. The Inari tee pattern is my first experience with Named Patterns. I knew that the PDF was going to be made up of various files, each with two sizes per file. What I wasn’t expecting is that the two sizes aren’t nested. They are printed staggered on the page. I figured I was going to have to grade out at the waist/hips based on my measurement and it was a little tricky with the way the files were set up. I was grading between the 10 and 12, which were in two separate files. I ended up printing both, cutting the smaller size, laying it over the larger size, and adding some width based on the larger size.

Of course in the midst of all that I forgot that I wanted to add a few inches in length because I was scared of it being too short.  Which it was– at least for a person who has fairly recently been pregnant. I ended up adding a hem band to the bottom to make it a bit longer. I made it as wide as the bottom of the tee because I didn’t want it to pull in at the waist.

I really loved this top right away, but I decided that I probably should have gone down a size. The pattern is intended for wovens or for knits and my knit was 95% cotton, 5% spandex so it’s got lots of stretch. I decided to try going down a size and adding a few inches to the length to see how I liked the fit.

I will spare you another long story about this other than to say that when I added length to my paper pattern I forgot to account for the 2″ of hem band that I added to the first version. I ended up taking the advice of the very talented Lauren Dahl, who suggested colorblocking it. (I love Instagram when you need to quickly solve a sewing problem!) I love how it turned out and I love the length this time around.

I really like this pattern and now I’m quite intrigued to try the dress in a woven fabric. I also have plans to make another hip length knit version. I like how it’s boxy but not sloppy. The sleeve cuffs are a great detail and they’re a quick way to finish the sleeve. Hooray for no hemming!

Have you made any Named patterns before? I’ve got the Alexandria pegged trousers on my to do list and one day I’d love to try the Jamie Jeans.

~Teri

Disclaimer: As part of the Indiesew blogger team I was provided with the Inari Tee pattern. All opinions are my own.