PROJECT SEW IT: Solar Tee

It’s February 1st and I have completed (and photographed) my Project Sew it make just in time last night to make the deadline! I feel probably a little too excited for sewing a tee, but excited none the less since I haven’t had too much sewing time over the past couple of weeks, and the flip flopping of lockdown, no lockdown, schools are closed, then open, then closed for a snow day, then open again… Well, you get the idea, I’ve felt a bit like a spinning top not knowing where I’m going to land and finally stop.

But I digress, so let’s get back to sewing!

Every year, I look forward to January since it’s the beginning of the Project Sew It challenge. If you are new here and are unaware of what Project Sew It is, you can check out this Facebook group to find out what it’s all about, but for the quick rundown, it’s a sewing challenge where you sew one project a month for the year. And the first month of the year always focuses on tees!

It’s probably my favourite month because I am 100% a tees and jeans kind of girl! I will wear out a pair of jeans and need to mend then a least once before I get enough wear out of a skirt or dress to even consider it’s next stage of life. I also find that the timing of this theme/challenge is great for me to get my sewjo back after a busy holiday season where I tend to hunker down and knit and/or read my way through the holidays.

So this year, for my tee project, I decided to go over what I needed/wanted first in a tee. My closet right now consists of a lot of basic short sleeve tees, some with curved hems, and really the only thing possibly interesting about them is if they came in a print. So I decided I needed something with a little be of drama for those date nights that aren’t true date nights (you know the ones where you sneak out of the house with your partner while your teenager babysits and you sit in the car drinking coffee together for an hour?!).

Yup, those are the ones! So I opted to go through patterns that I’ve been wanting to make for a while and lo and behold, the Solar Tee by Papercut Patterns fit the bill! It’s a loose tee with short or long sleeve and band or hem options, but it’s got a little something extra with it’s ruffle sleeves.

I sewed this up using Dots on Bamboo, which is an OEKO TEX certified Bamboo/Spandex jersey that has a lovely drape. I wanted to really see the flutter sleeve detail be relaxed and drape as much as it could, which is why I opted for this option over a more moderate drape jersey like the Hudson jerseys from the shop. But I do already have plans on making another one with them just to compare to see how it changes the way this tee looks.

I have to say though, this jersey feels SO good against the skin. It’s got a really soft hand and it feels so light to the touch, it’s almost like wearing nothing… almost!

For this project, I sewed up the pattern in a size 6 with no modifications since it was my first go at it. In the future, I might slim the sleeve down a bit. I think that this is more about personal preference though, as I tend to feel like my sleeves always fall on the looser side even when the intent is to have a snug fit (I have no idea why… I don’t feel like I have slim arms! haha). Otherwise that’s it! That’s another reason why I love knit fabrics so much, they’re so forgiving on a first attempt.

The next theme for the challenge is Sweaters. I’m not too sure yet as what I’ll make. I do need a new hoodie though, so that’s something to consider, but I also like cardigans for around the house. Are cardigans considered sweaters though… that might be something to think about…