Long or short sleeved basic tops made of cotton with a mix of lycra are one of the most used items in my wardrobe. I am actually quite dissatisfied with most of the basic tops that I find on stores. I either don’t like their fabric, they turn out to be too thin or they don’t have the right mix of cotton and lycra, or I don’t like their shape because most don’t have the waist curve or they are tight on the hips. I wonder if anybody else has this problem.
Anyway, I wanted to work on some basic shirts for winter. I used Gertie’s Boat Neck Top pattern from her book Gertie Sews Vintage Casual. This is a great book if you are looking for patterns to casual and comfortable outfits that you can wear everyday. The book gives a lot of tips for sewing knits which is helpful.
For sizing I used 4 but it came a bit bigger than expected on the sides so I went ahead and reduced the width by one centimeter on each side. Also, I changed the pattern a bit for myself. The shoulder seams were narrower than what I wanted so I made them two centimeters wider. I also added a binding to the neck edge just because I like the way the bindings look on knits.
The fabric is cotton with some mix of lycra and the stripes add a twist to the basic.
Sew-In-Progress 