When I was pregnant with my son, around two and a half years ago, I bought a big, long boxy tee (I think it’s actually a dress? *cringe*) from H&M and I have worn it almost every week since. It worked well for when I was super pregnant, and worked great as part of my transition wardrobe while I was losing the baby weight …but then I never stopped wearing it. I think most people would tell me to stop wearing it because it’s really not flattering, but I love the color and that it’s so comfortable to wear. I usually try to half tuck it because it’s really long, but for comparison’s sake it’s not tucked in these photos. It’s still holding up pretty well, but it’s pilling quite a bit and eventually it’ll start getting holes, and I’ll just need to toss it. But before that happens, I wanted to see if I could try re-creating it with a sewing patterns first!
I chose to use the Santa Fe Top by Hey June, although the sleeves aren’t exactly the same, I figured it was worth a shot. I used view C and cut it on the fold. The adjustment to make the Santa Fe a boxy top is really easy because it already has a lot of ease. The only adjustment I made was to make the side seam go straight down (vertically) from beneath the sleeve and then straighten the hem (from the longest part of the hem) so that it was at a 90 degree angle with the side seam. Literally just made it a box. 😉
The other changes I made to each are below –
GRAY: I made a size large, which match my measurements. I used view B’s neckline and accidentally bound my neck binding to the inside instead of the outside (Oops, but it doesn’t really matter). I also lengthened the shirt by 2″
PURPLE: I sized up to an XL and used the Union St Tee’s crew neckline to make to look more like my H&M shirt. I lengthened the shirt by 4″.
I made the gray one first, but I noticed that it was a lot shorter and more fitted than my H&M shirt, so I decided to try again and see if I could get the pattern a little closer to the H&M shirt. Both of of the shirts I made are out of dana knit, which is cotton modal, and my H&M tee is a cotton poly. Modal is a lot softer and drapier, so the fabric hangs very differently.
I do like the changes I made to the Santa Fe Top, but the cut and style still wasn’t quite as close as what I was hoping for. These will still get lots of wear though. Another pattern very close to my H&M tee is The Stellan Tee from French Navy Now, and it’s a FREE pattern! I just made one and the style is a bit more similar to what I was trying to re-create, but I’ll be posting about it later.
My H&M tee might just be something I take apart and make a pattern from, but the fabric has kind of lost it’s shape so that might not work. Good thing there are so many great t-shirt patterns so that I won’t feel too bad when it bites the dust. 😉
Do you have a RTW shirt that you wear a lot and have tried to re-create?