Sewlala release a new pattern at the end of June, the Roxie Tee (sizes up to 59″ bust/61″ hip). And now, a month later, I’ve finally finished mine!
This pattern is free for returning customers or with a new purchase of one of her patterns. If you have bought a Sewlala pattern in the past, you can email Anna at contact@sewlalapatterns.com with your past order number, and she will send the pattern to you. Otherwise, they pattern is free when you add it to your cart with another of her patterns.
This pattern was initially free to download as a thank you to the sewing community and got very popular. But with that, Anna got some very rude emails from people and had to rethink the delivery of this pattern. In the wise words of Thumper from Bambi, “If you can’t say somethin’ nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.” Especially if you’re being rude about something that you got for free. Now…let’s talk about my cool new Roxie!
I’ve had it cut out for a while, but I’ll be honest, I was a little apprehensive. I love Sewlala patterns, but sometimes when shirts give a wide silhouette at the shoulders, I don’t like them on me for some reason. I love them on other people and think they look so cool, but for some reason when I see myself, it just feels a little strange.
I made a size 12, which is usually the size I choose for Sewlala patterns. I didn’t adjust the length at all, and the fit is great. I didn’t use ribbing for the neckline, so I measured the neckline and made the neckband 85% of the length. Looking at it now though, I think I should have made it a little longer because it’s still a little bit puckery (please don’t judge). I just always worry that it’s going to gape open if I make the neckband too long.
I did the back neckband reinforcement, but I don’t like doing it on t-shirts very much. It’s really difficult and never turns out as nice as I hope. It also made the back pucker a lot more after I added the reinforcement. But in comparison, I used to not like stitching around necklines, so maybe the back neckline reinforcement will be something I understand and like better in the future.
The sleeve part of this pattern is really interesting. There are 3 views for the sleeves, and I chose the view with the sleeve folded up. The other two stuck out too far at the shoulder for my comfort. I’ve seen a few other sewists make the view that isn’t folded up, but they used a thinner fabric. So maybe that’s the key to making it feel a little more relaxed at the shoulder.
I didn’t have the correct interfacing when I got the pattern, so I ordered the recommended Vlieseline H180 from Les Coupons in France. I was glad that I ordered the right interfacing because anything thicker would not work very well in my opinion.
I like the low underarm, especially because I’m kind of a sweaty person, so having some airflow there is helpful. The topstitching around the armhole was a tiny bit tricky, but I pinned a lot at the underarm curve and that helped. I think next time I would make the stitch length longer and maybe that would make it look nicer. It’s hard to see unless you get really close, so no one except me will ever notice.
This chartreuse cotton/spandex is so bright, but I thought it would be cool as a Roxie. I’m wearing it here with my Pomona Shorts. After these photos, I got ready to pick up my daughter from school, so I put on a couple more necklaces, grabbed my tote with all of my shopping bags in it, and Birkenstocks. I thought it was a cool look, so I took a couple more pictures to show it styled a little bit more (shown below).
It was fun to try a new style of t-shirt, and I’m already thinking about what color and fabric I should use for my next Roxie. Maybe even cropping my next one a little bit shorter…we’ll see!
Thank you for reading today and happy sewing! xoxo
Sharing Joy:
It’s my daughter’s last day of pre-school today, and we made cookies for all of her teachers and aides at her school. I told her this morning that she could tape the little note I printed to the bags, so she took the stack of paper and ran off with it.
After I finished the bags, I found her in her room rolling up masking tape and sticking it to the back of the papers. I didn’t even tell her to! It’s surprising sometimes how kids grow up so fast and learn to do things by themselves. Then I found some little heart stickers and she added those to the notes after we stuck all the notes to the bags. She was so excited to go and give them to everyone.