Rowan Tee

For those who prefer to read in Dutch, please scroll down, I’ve added a summery at the end of this post. 

When Laura asked me to be part of her Rowan Tee pattern tour, her timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Although I bought my serger 3 years ago, very few knits have made it to my stash. Using a serger to finish my seams: yes! Using a serger to sew with knits: not so much. Taking baby steps at first, I made progress and after this KCW project, I was hungry for more.

The Rowan Tee pattern comes with a lot of options, 144 different variations to be precise. Although I knew immediately which version I wanted to make, it took me a while to choose the right fabric. I fell in love with the prints of Andrea Lauren a while ago, but I’ve always found the Spoonflower fabrics quite pricy. Well, if ever I needed an excuse to buy some more expensive fabric, this was it. I really wanted those pandas. And because it’s so hard to find knit fabric around here, I bought the matching pale pink fabric too (both organic cotton knits).

Because I was not sure the fabrics would make it here in time, I also ordered 2 prints from the Acorn Trail collection by Birch Fabrics. They stole my heart at Quilt Market and the quality is great. The organic interlock fabric is slightly thicker and so soft, what makes it perfect for a long sleeve tee.

When all my fabrics arrived in my mailbox, I couldn’t choose. Oh, well, I made 2 tees for my 7 year old. Not only were they much needed in her fall/winter wardrobe, I also thought this was the best option: with 2 younger sisters to pass it along to, we all can enjoy this handmade love much longer!

Both my Rowan tees have a hood, arm stripes and cuffs.

For the Birch tee I love how well the 2 prints work together. I only had half a yard of the lighter fabric and that was was not enough to cut the arm stripes in one piece.

I topstitched the hood with a twin needle but only to the underlying seams, not to the lining.

For the panda tee, I added little ears to the hood. I initially thought about making the hood in the printed fabric but having 5 pattern pieces would have made the print too messy (I’ve cut the hood side pattern in 2 pieces for the placement of the ears). So, I chose the solid fabric for the hood and added the ears in the printed fabric.

At first I added batting to the ears, but that turned out too bulky, and 2 layers of knit fabric worked out just fine.

Thank you so much, Laura, for inviting me!  It’s been a joy to work with this wonderful pattern.  I was asked to post one day early so today I’m joining Stitched by Christal and Nutta in the Rowan Tee Pattern Tour.

I love how the pattern tour shows all the different options and styles. Hop over to Craftstorming and click along! 

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Laura ‘s mailtje om deel te nemen aan haar Rowan Tee pattern tour, kwam net op het juiste moment. Om één of andere reden waren er hier nog maar weinig tricot projecten vanonder de overlock gerold. Deze babykleertjes waren een stapje in de goede richting en na de geslaagde KCW tuniekjes, was mijn tricot interesse helemaal gewekt.

Het patroon komt met een heleboel verschillende opties en hoewel ik onmiddellijk wist welke versie ik wou maken (kap, lange mouwen, strepen op de armen, mouwboorden), twijfelde ik langer over de stofkeuze. Hier in de US zijn de toffe tricotjes maar dun gezaaid. Spoonflower lonkte al een hele tijd maar vond ik toch aan de dure kant, wetende dat de kwaliteit wel eens in vraag werd gesteld. Toch waren het de panda’s van Andrea Lauren die me over de streep trokken. Deze tricotjes van Birch had ik op Quilt Market gespot en die kwaliteit is zalig zacht. Ik maakte 2x maatje 7 voor mijn bijna 8 jarige en dat zit perfect.  

En nu we toch in 2 verschillende talen bezig zijn: ik speel al langer met het idee om in 2 talen te bloggen. De vraag is echter wat de Nederlandstalige lezers daar van denken. Doen, niet doen? Overschakelen op uitsluitend Engels of niet? Any thoughts?