My 2nd T-shirt is finished!

Hello, dear friends,

my 2nd T-shirt is finished:



After having to wait a few days for the right (Troja) sewing thread, I was finally able to sew the 2 cut pieces together.

After the 1st T-shirt, I had made a note of a few things that I wanted to try out right away here.

I used the hem tape recommended by Petra (it happened to be available at Lidl today). Since I don’t have an overlock sewing machine, my stretchy seams are a bit wider and therefore more noticeable. Either you sew them down again with an extra seam, which I didn’t do because of the stretch, or you use, for example, this hem tape. I cut it into very thin strips and basically folded over the fake overlock seam and ironed it in place. A bit fiddly, but in the end the result is what counts.

Then I really have to give special praise again to the Troja thread recommended by Inge. It is truly excellent.  It sews like butter. So nothing snapped, no lint, and no little knots either. Very good tip!

I had only slightly altered the pattern. Now I’ve noticed that I would actually like 1 cm more length at the back. So I changed that on the paper pattern. That tells you that this was not the last shirt. There is always something to improve.

For the hems (sleeves and bottom), this time I used the elastic stitch with 3 stitches. You really notice a difference when wearing it, whether you have sewn an elastic stitch or not. On the previous shirt, I only sewed the hem with a straight stitch. There was already some “tension” when moving. So note to self: always use elastic stitches for stretchy fabrics.



Unfortunately, I don’t have a twin needle presser foot. I haven’t yet looked into whether it can be retrofitted. For now, I have to make do with what my machine comes with by default.

Today I experimented a little with the thread tension. Those are all little details that can affect the seam appearance.

2 questions for the pros:

What can I do so that the lower hem doesn’t ripple so much? I’ve already dutifully pressed the finished seam with steam, but there are still slight waves. Not a big deal, but you may know what could be causing it. I sewed with the triple elastic stitch.

And the second question also relates to the finished seams. Especially when you sew around a curve, like at the neckline, the excess hem allowance later curls up. This time I ironed down the “rolled edges” with 0.5 cm narrow hem tape. Alternatively, I could have made a second seam, right? But my triple elastic stitch was already dominant enough. I didn’t want to put a second seam next to it. Is there anything else you can do about rolled edges?

So, enough talking. Here’s one more photo of me with my new shirt. I liked the lightweight jersey fabric because it has lots of denim-blue tones in it. And the pattern also forgives “crooked seams.”

Thank you very much for reading, commenting, critiquing, and giving tips. I’m open to everything.

Best regards, Ina

Ina, your shirt is TOP! And it suits you wonderfully
As for the wavy hem, there’s a very simple and good solution: place a strip of tissue paper or sandwich paper between the hem edge and the fabric and sew slowly over it. You can easily tear the paper out afterward, and then the hem should no longer be wavy. And you can prevent the hem edge from rolling if you sew exactly along the edge, but that takes some practice

Best, Inge

Wow, Ina, this has turned out to be another masterpiece! And it looks fantastic on you.

That looks great!

I’m speechless!!!!!! This is amazing!!!!
Oh, too bad we don’t live nearby. We’d have a sewing, crochet, and knitting meetup right away!!!
You’re simply amazing!

... and one more thing: This is a completely one-of-a-kind piece!!! No one else has one like this except you!!

You’ve conjured up a gorgeous shirt, Ina! I’d love one like that, too. And the fabric really goes great with jeans. 

You did a great job on that, Ina! It looks fantastic and suits you wonderfully. I’m sure it would look great with white jeans, too.

So beautiful!

Hello everyone,
thank you so much for your praise and compliments—that makes me very happy!

Dear Inge, thank you so much for the tip about using tissue paper or greaseproof paper. I’ll give that a try.

Dear Petra, yes, it’s a shame we live so far apart. A crafting get-together would surely be very entertaining, full of ideas, and productive. We could learn a lot from each other, show each other techniques, or just chat. Lucky are those who can nurture such a crafting friendship in person.

Warm regards, Ina