Vogue 1261 - Black + white colorblocked tee

The idea for this top came while I was making view A last year. I was just starting to notice the colorblocking trend and thought it would be fun to have one side in black and the other in white. During the month of August (aka the month of wadders) I stitched it up using some polyester jersey. The fit was horrible on that first one and the fabric was gross. But worst of all was that it looked like some sort of court jester costume. Hmmm, what now? I decided to cut the front in black and the back in white, a la the Michael Kors Spring 2013 fashion show. He did pants, though.

The fabrics are both bamboo knits, purchased with my September Mood fabrics gift card. For me, the hardest part of making these types of garments is finding two fabrics that are the same content but different colors, especially if I already have it in my mind that I want to use specific shades. Mood has this knit in 21 colors! Here is the black and the white. This is the second time I've used bamboo knit, and it definitely won't be the last. It's incredibly soft and feels like pajamas. (And FYI, I'd just had my daughter a month before those pictures were taken, and was about 25 lbs. heavier.)

Okay, let's talk about fit. I am not a fan of the original drafting of this pattern. See how wide the neckline is? Now picture it with 2 extra inches in the center front and center back. Yeah, that first one was so wide it was falling off my shoulders. I'd made the XS. Also, the ends of the sleeves were drafted too tight and they cut off my arm circulation. My alterations were to pinch out 2 inches from the center front and center back, resulting in 4 inches total eliminated from the width. I cut the front and back on the fold and added 3/4 inches to the bottom of the sleeves on both front and back, tapering to nothing at the underarm. I cut the neck binding 2 inches smaller then drafted.

Then, because I am always looking for little details to make my garments unique, I hemmed the white fabric in black thread and the black fabric in white thread. I used a twin needle to get a coverstitch look.

I have spent the past 2 weeks in pants making hell and needed an instant gratification project. Start to finish this top took approximately 3 hours, and I'm a slow seamstress. That's a quick make! I think it's super cute and the high-low hemline is really on trend right now. This is a great top to throw on when I don't feel like making much effort but still want to look put together.

Vogue 1261