Today I wanted to share my first ever sewing hack. I joined the Facebook group Patterns for Pirates sometime last year and have been slowly learning how to sew with knits. I recently made myself a pair of white Bell Bottom Leggings, courtesy of the Peg Legs to Bell Bottoms by 12th House Studio. You guys, these are seriously so comfy and cute! I was born in the wrong decade.
After sharing my photo with the P4P Facebook group, I had a lot of comments about the shirt I was wearing. "Is it P4P? Is this a Hack?" So sorry! It is a Ready to Wear (RTW) that I purchased years ago from somewhere... maybe Kohls? But they inspired me to try to hack this RTW shirt! So here goes:
I needed a pattern that had sleeves and was fitted through the bust. I went with the Women's Henley. My measurements put me in the size Medium. Using freezer paper, I traced the Back - fold line, neckline, shoulders, armhole, and the length I wanted. (I love my doggy paperweights!)
Measure the distance from the fold line to the end of the armhole, minus a 1/2 inch. We will add the seam allowance back in later. 10 - 1/2 = 9.5
Take that same measurement and mark it on the bottom. Connect the two marks, the armhole and the hemline.
At this point, I turned the freezer paper over and placed it on the Front of the shirt pattern. It was hard to photograph, but I hope you can see the lines. Place the mark on the medium Front Armhole, sliding it over to remove the 1/2 seam allowance. Trace the Front Armhole curve.
Right side up again, with the front armhole connected. Remember, no seam allowance.
Add 2 inches from the first line we connected. This breaks down to 1 1/2 inch back overlap + 1/2 seam allowance.
The corners of the RTW shirt were rounded. I chose 4 inches start my curve. You can do more or less, whichever you prefer. More of a curve will make the opening more noticeable. Less will make it more boxy.
Now do the same steps we just did for the Back Pattern piece to make the Front Pattern Piece. For the Front, my measurement was 9 inches. (9 1/2 - 1/2 seam allowance).
Making the Front Armhole was much easier. I was able to just flip my newly created Back Pattern Piece, match up my lines, and trace the Back Armhole portion.
Tada! Add the 2 inches. Again, this breaks down to 1 1/2 Front Overlap + Seam Allowance. This will give a total of 3 inches that the two pieces will overlap.
Transfer the same curve from the Back Pattern hemline to the Front Pattern hemline.
You now should have 2 pieces that look like this! A Front and a Back. Make sure you mark the fold line, the grain and stretch line. Now we can start sewing! I would recommend a fabric that has nice drape and movement. Not to clingy or the slit at the side might not show as easily. I fell in love with a lightweight sweater knit that I found in the Red Dot Clearance at Joann Fabrics. I don't normally go for prints but these colors spoke to me.
Using the 1/2 seam allowance, fold over and hem from the armhole, around the bottom, and up to the other armhole on both the Front and Back pattern pieces.
I don't have a twin needle so I used a very narrow longer zig-zag stitch. Then I went back over it about an 1/8 over to give it the twin needle finishing look.
Lay your hemmed pieces down like so: Front piece right side up. Back piece right side up ON TOP of the Front piece, matching up the armhole. (Another way of saying it is Wrong Side of the Back piece is facing the Right Side of the Front piece).
Front is on the left. Back is on the right. Again, the Back is ON TOP of the Front. There should be a distance of about 3 inches between where the 2 overlap.
On the RTW shirt, there was a seam about 7 inches down from the armhole. This allowed the slit to open between the bust & waist line. I haven't exactly figured out how this would translate to other sizes, but I would probably use the P4P Fitting guide to measure your side waist and bust line distance and pick a number somewhere around there. So for my shirt I measured 7 1/2 inches (including 1/2 seam allowance) down on the Back Piece and placed a pin sideways to show me where to stop sewing.
Sew as closely to the edge of the Back piece as possible without falling off. Stop at the mark you pinned above.
Time to do the other side! This takes a bit more patience folding. Lay the entire piece right side down. Fold up the Front like so.
Next, fold the Back side on top of the Front. Remember, ON TOP! (So, the Back piece is wrong side facing the Front piece right side). Match up the armhole. Make sure there is approximately 3 inches of overlap. Measure down 7.5 inches and pin, being very careful to only catch the two layers you need. Top stitch as close to the Back piece edge as possible.
Sew the shoulder seams together. Follow the instructions for the neckband in the P4P pattern. (Can I just sigh with relief at how the print matched up!?!)
Sew your two sleeves. I chose short sleeves, but you can do whatever you want! No alterations need to be done to the sleeves. We already took care of that by shifting our armhole seam allowance earlier. I went ahead and hemmed them too.
Right sides together, I lined up the seam of the sleeve with the center of the overlap (1 1/2 inches from either side.
Here is what it looks like all pinned together. Sew both sleeves on this way. *You know, you could probably use cuffs or binding to make it sleeveless. Hmm...I might have to try that...
And Voila! You have a new Henley to Side Slit Hack. (I really need a cuter name for it. Any ideas?)
Thanks Hubby for being willing to be my Photographer! Love you!
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Please feel free to share your photos! I would love to see how you interpret this pattern! You can make it longer, shorter, more overlap, more curved, its endless! Have fun Hacking! Thanks again to Patterns for Pirates and 12th House Studio.
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This one is made with Knit Slub, very thin and probably about 3 inches extra in length, both the sleeves and the hem. I think I love it as a pajama top!
