Stripey and silvery – Grainline Hemlock tees

Hi all

It has been a bit quiet round here recently – like a lot of people I have struggled to take any photos over the winter and I haven’t been doing a lot of sewing in the last month or two. I have spent a lot of time looking at patterns and fabric and seeing what everyone else is sewing but then I think about the effort involved in fitting a new pattern and  I don’t have the energy to get started…

So I am spending a bit of time revisiting patterns that I have made before – I know it fits, I know I like it and I can sew it up quickly,  perfect projects for low energy winter weekends.First up are these Grainline Hemlock tees – which I actually made a little while ago and have been wearing regularly.

The Hemlock tee is a free pattern from Grainline Studio – you just need to subscribe to their newsletter.

I have made the Hemlock tee before – here (one of the very first things I made) – a sleeveless version here – I have made a few others unblogged and one as a Mother’s Day gift.This is a perfect loose boxy top – I wear both of these new versions regularly, over jeans at weekends and with my Ultimate trousers during the week.

Version one is made from beautiful stripy ponte from Clothspot – sadly out of stock now – the fabric is thick enough to make a very cosy top. I briefly had a vision of a wide band at the waist with stripes running vertically, but when I pinned it on I didn’t like it, so I replaced it with a horizontal stripe band to neatly finish all the edges. I did include wrist bands with the contrast stripe though and I am very pleased with the shoulder stripe matching!Version two is made from a lightweight,  loose knitted silvery grey fabric that I found at Barry’s in Birmingham during SewBrum. I was worried that it could end up looking a bit like dishcloths sewn together and that the loose knit wouldn’t be very sturdy. I used my overlocker to sew all the seams and put bands on the wrists and waist to enclose all the raw edges and so far it has stood up well to washing and wearing. So I think I am starting to get back into the groove – I am sticking with TNT patterns for a bit longer so there will be a few more repeats to come, but I am looking forward to stocking up on wearable basics before I get started on new projects for spring and summer!

And there were glimpses of the sun in the garden today so maybe I will even get some pictures of the new projects!