Merlo Field Tee, Take Two

After a several-weeks’ sewing hiatus, I finally have a new FO. I was grumpy at my current works-in-progress, so I decided to re-make a pattern that I knew that I liked, in a fabric that I was excited to work with, in hopes of getting myself interested in sewing again.

I’ve been itching to make another Merlo Tee for a few weeks now. My first one was a touch too small, and tragically I’ve already managed to stain it. What can I say, I’m a messy eater with a drinking problem.

I cut a size larger than last time, and chose to sew the wide-necked view instead of the crew neck. I used a drapey bamboo jersey from Mood, in gold and navy. I was a little worried that it would look too sports-fan-ish, but once it was sewn up I decided I was pretty happy with the color combination.

There’s something about the contrasting bicep bands on this pattern that I really love. I’m also a sucker for fitted sleeves and wide-bodied designs. I expect I’ll be making more of this pattern, though next time I’ll probably pick a more subtle color combination.

Next time I might even try to make some fitting adjustments. This size is comfortable overall, but I could probably do with less excess fabric in the back.

This was my second project constructed entirely on my serger, and I’m happy to say that I’m getting pretty comfortable with it! It’s still early to tell, but I suspect that the combination of rotary cutter + serger is really going to speed up my sewing. This new shirt came together over two afternoons, which for me feels quick.

Today I assembled a printed t-shirt PDF pattern, traced my size, cut it out, and cut my fabric in…about two hours. I don’t know if that’s fast or slow relative to other sewists, but it was certainly fast for me. I’m mostly able-bodied now, but tasks like tracing and cutting usually require me to take several breaks. This time I only needed a few breathers…

Next, I suppose we’ll see how quickly I can sew up the t-shirt. It’s a Plantain shirt from Deer & Doe, a super basic tee in the short-sleeved version (so no adorable elbow patches, alas). I’m just trying it out with a “nautical” striped knit that I picked up at Girlcharlee for $1.50/yd.