Monday, June 24, 2013

Pattern Review of the Mainstreet Tee!

Hello dear readers, today I am here to share with you one of my favorite patterns of late - the Mainstreet Tee&Dress by Terra's Treasures.  It is no secret that I am a huge fan on knits - also no secret that I am a MASSIVELY HUGE FAN of upcycling.  Terra has put together a pattern that lends itself to my loves quite perfectly.  
The Mainstreet Tee and Dress is versatile, fun, modest, and perfect for summer play. 



First you get to choose whether your little darling gets a dress or a Tee - mine got a Tee, because she needs more of them desperately (I get tons of hand-me-down skirts, shorts, and pants - but almost no tops... well looking at the way baby girl plays and eats, I think I know why ;op).  So I printed out the pieces for the top.

Dear friends, it goes together like a dream - not only does she use color lines for the sizes (which those of you with color printers will love), but the dress lines are a dash and the tee lines are solid (so people like me with B&W printers can still easily find and cut out our needed size and not get confused between the tee and dress).  Each page is labeled with the Patter and Designer Name, and once you put the segments together, each pattern piece is labeled with the Pattern Name, the designer's logo, the name of the pattern piece and a grain line - nothing is left to change or guess work here!

The next choice you have in making this pattern is whether you want to do a knit neck ruffle or woven one.  I went with knit ( I used the existing hem of the T to save time, the pattern shows TWO different ways to finish your ruffles, either a pressed rolled hem on a normal sewing machine, or a serged rolled hem).  There are also options for ruffles at the bottom, but I chose to keep mine simple for play.  All of the ruffle measurements are given in charts so you can easily cut out the rectangular sections needed without printing extra pages and wasting paper.

Terra does an amazing job explaining knits and the amount of stretch needed for this garment.  She includes a stretch gauge so that you can test your upcycles and make sure they fit the bill 35-100% stretch is recommended for the main body.
This pattern includes techniques for sewing with knits, gathering, and binding the neckline and arm holes.  If you are a beginner just starting out with knits, you will love how easy this pattern is to follow - and you will LOVE your results! *I use a twin needle for my top stitching, this allows the knit to retain its ease for stretching over your child's head - doing it in the contrasting thread color is just extra fun.


I mixed two solid color jersey tops for my upcycle - if you are more classic, you could make this in all one color, and if you are more adventurous - you can mix the pieces to your heart's content!

Comfy knit - Check
Adorable neck ruffles - Check
Cute little puff sleeves - Check
Pattern Versatility - check, Check, CHECK!


I love the fit - it is snug to the body without being tight (my baby certainly has a budah belly, so it would be a bit looser on someone with a smaller frame).  
The length is also spot on - perfect for pairing with shorts to play!



One Tee down - 99 to go!!!  Hope you love it as much as I do!

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