The striped Renfrew.

I guess it's official...I'm addicted to the Renfrew Top. The first two items of clothing I've sewn in 2013 (here's my first) have been from this pattern, and I'm definitely anticipating making more. :)

 

I bought this stripey fabric at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago. I was drawn to it because HL hardly ever gets striped knits...it's a seasonal thing. Also, the cream stripes are not regular jersey but lace. {And I have to admit that when I first saw it, it reminded me of Mary's dress. I guess because of the color and the lace?}

 

I made this one exactly like my last one- scoop neck and elbow length sleeves. But this was my first time ever working with stripes. And I'm not going to lie...I was really nervous about attempting to match up the stripes! I put off making the shirt for a couple of weeks because of that.

But this tutorial was really helpful, and look at my perfectly matched stripes at the side seams! I am ridiculously proud of that. :) {P.S. The white at the very bottom of the shirt is my cami, not the shirt itself. Which is why it looks weird.}

The only place I got a little off was at the waist and sleeve bands. There are two small spots where a bit of the cream peeks through in a blue stripe. But it's not obvious, so I'm not worried about it.

I was really careful with the neckband, too, and I like how that turned out. And, quite accidentally, the sleeves look like they match up with most of the top (though not at the shoulders).

As usual, the shirt came together so quickly and easily. There are no markings to transfer (except notches), and as someone who hates transferring markings, that's heaven. :) I think I'm over my fear of knits!

This fabric was really thin and fragile feeling, though it really wasn't any harder to sew than a normal knit. The shirt wasn't as see-through as I expected, so I'm glad of that (but with a cami underneath, it doesn't matter anyway). I like that it's lightweight because it'll be perfect for warm weather.

I also have this knit shirt to share. It was my very first knit, and I sewed it sometime last year. I had this worn Old Navy shirt that I really loved, so I took it apart and used that to make a pattern. The shirt already had bands at the sleeves, and I just hemmed the bottom. But the hem was awful and constantly curling up, so I never posted it here. I finally decided to add a band to the bottom and bought some more of this brown jersey, but when I got home, the browns were two completely different shades! So I had given up on it.

But then, while cleaning out my fabric stash a couple of months ago, I found some of the original jersey. And there was just enough for a band at the hem.

I should have trimmed a bit off before attaching the band, because now the shirt is just a tad too long. Also, the neck is a little wider than I prefer, but the original shirt was like that, too. Overall, I like this shirt, but I like the Renfrew better. So I don't think I'll be making many more of these. :)

The original hem:

{As usual, thanks to Mom for taking the pictures. If I look like I'm in pain in any of them, it's because it was FREEZING cold and windy. This is the life of a blogger...In 90 degree summer heat, I'm outside in a shawl and in the winter I'm in a t-shirt. Or maybe I'm just out of season as a crafter. :) }

Until next time,