Drafting, Modifying, and Embellishing the Basic Tee

I was watching Sewing with Nancy few weeks ago, and I saw her doing some wonderful embellishments to a knit top. She did things like adding ruffles and flowers to just jazz it up a bit.  I thought a little about trying to figure out how to get a good fitting knit shirt pattern.

Then a few weeks later, I was watching It's Sew Easy, and she used a basic t-shirt pattern to make cardigan sets, cowl neck tops, tunics and so on!  I decided to immediately find out how to make a well fit knit pattern.  The best part is that knit fabric stretches and is rather forgiving as far as fit goes. 

So here, in this post, I am linking to the sloper drafting tutorial, the modifications for the various looks, and the embellishments!  I can't wait to try it!

DRAFTING THE TEE
Mim over at MadMim.com has a wonderful tutorial for drafting a t-shirt.  I will likely draft my front separate from my back because I have a rather large bust that needs to be accommodated.  The embellishments will make the many muslins wearable even if they look pretty wonky!

MODIFICATIONS FOR DIFFERENT PATTERNS
As I said earlier, I think that turning one pattern into many is so awesome.  What really sold me on this is the cardigan sets.  Those things are super comfy, and looking at the pieces here, you can see how intuitive the design is. So I will be making some of those in as many colors as I can find!

I also love the modifications and fitting techniques employed by Zoe on Short Stories of Shapely Seams!  Zoe is a teacher and a seamstress and a blogger and her tutorials are the best!

1. Stretch Wardrobe from Scratch (1)

2. Copy a T-Shirt (2)

3. Create a basic Skirt (1)

4. Add darts for a great tank top (1) (fitting tip for the larger bust!)

5. Basic tank dress with darts (1)

6. T-Shirt dress (3)

7. Dress variations 

Below is the segment on making cowl neck shirts.




EMBELISHMENTS
Finally, the embellishments!  To cover up ill fit on my wearable muslins.  There are two Sewing with Nancy knit series available to watch for free online right now.  (Please donate to your PBS station if you can!) I have linked to them below:
Sewing with Nancy: Sew Knits with Confidence, Part 1
Sewing with Nancy: Sew Knits with Confidence, Part 2
Sewing with Nancy: Knockout Knits, Part 1
Sewing with Nancy: Knockout Knits, Part 2