Sewing Pattern Comparison: T-Shirts
This week's 'Outfit of the Week' is Burda's 6812 culottes with Grainline Studio's Lark Tee. For this outfit, I knew from the inspiration images I had gathered that I probably needed to choose a basic t-shirt to go with the culottes. However, which t-shirt? There are so many! So many pattern companies seem to have a basic t-shirt in their collection.
Clockwise from top left-hand corner: Grainline Studio's Lark; Tilly and the Buttons' Agnes; Liesl + Co. Maritime; Burda 6990; Sewaholic Renfrew
As I was looking through the t-shirt patterns that we sell, it struck me that it might be a good idea to draw up a table comparing their features. So, that's what I did! I love a good table and I hope you'll find this helpful the next time you're trying to choose which t-shirt pattern to buy. I've restricted the table to patterns that we sell here at The Splendid Stitch. However, if you feel that there's a really key pattern that I ought to include (even if we don't sell it), I don't mind adding it to the table: just leave a comment letting me know and I'll consider it for inclusion. I know that it can be somewhat cumbersome to try to read a large table on a webpage, so I've also provided a one-page PDF version of the table which you can access here.
| Grainline Studio Lark | Tilly and the Buttons Agnes | Burda 6990 | Liesl + Co. Maritime | Sewaholic Renfrew | |
| bust circumference covered by the pattern | 81-112 cm | 76-112 cm | 80-104 cm | 83-117 cm | 76-104 cm |
| ease (for size 8) | 1.27 cm | ? (has negative ease) | ? (described as fitted) | 3.81 cm | 5 cm |
| level of difficulty | beginner (lowest difficulty level) | improvers (highest difficulty level; keep in mind, though, that Tilly's patterns are directed towards beginners) | easy (lowest difficulty level) | level 1 (lowest difficulty level) | intermediate (its third of four difficulty levels) |
| neckline finish | band (fold and stitch for bateau) | band | fold and stitch (for crew and bateau) | facing | band (for v and scoop) |
| sewalong available? | yes | online class available | yes | ||
| cost | £13 | £12.50 | £5.85 | £11.50 | £12.95 |
| fabric | |||||
| % stretch | 20% (minimum) | 25% (minimum) | not specified | not specified | 20% (minimum) |
| jersey - light | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| jersey - medium | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| stable knits (i.e. doubleknit) | yes | yes | |||
| neckline options |
|||||
| crew | yes | yes | |||
| bateau/boat | yes | yes | yes | ||
| v | yes | yes | |||
| scoop | yes | yes | yes | ||
| scooped with rushing at centre-front | yes | ||||
| funnel | yes | ||||
| turtle | yes | ||||
| large roll collar | yes | ||||
| cowl | yes | ||||
| sleeve length options | |||||
| short | yes | yes | yes | ||
| elbow | yes | yes | |||
| three-quarter | yes | yes | |||
| wrist | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| other features | |||||
| gathered sleeve with rushing | yes | ||||
| side vents at hem | yes |
In putting together the table, the thing that suprised me the most was the amount of ease. Tilly and the Buttons' Agnes seems to be the only one with negative ease at the bust (meaning that the top is actually smaller at the bust than one's body measurement, resulting in a very tight fit). Grainline Studio's Lark has a minimal amount of ease: it is probably designed so that the t-shirt is snug at the bust, but not tight. Liesl + Co.'s Maritime top and Sewaholic's Renfrew top have more ease - which is why they can be made with less stretchy, more stable knits. However, while 5 cm (for Renfrew) seems like a lot, bear in mind that this is simply a 1" pinch of material at the bust: it's not tight, but you're not going to be swimming in material. In trying to figure out how much ease you like at the bust, the best thing to do is to try on a favourite t-shirt and then see how much excess fabric there is at the bust.
Again, do let me know if you'd like me to add to the table - and if I've made any mistakes or left off anything important!
As for this week's 'Outfit of the Week', I went with Grainline Studio's Lark Tee, as it seemed to suit the inspiration photos the best. To learn more about this week's outfit, click here. Also, please bear in mind that we're currently in the midst of our big Black Friday sale! You can get 20% off all patterns and fabrics until 11:59 pm on Monday! Use the discount code BLACKFRIDAY20 at checkout.
Inspiration images from here and here
Inspiration image from here and here
Inspiration image from here and here
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