Pattern: Sewaholic Renfrew top

What do you do with mis-matched fabric?

I bought this fabric a while back because I really liked the waffle-like knit texture it had.  It reminded me of one of my favorite winter shirts.  One that now has a giant hole in it – probably from over-wear.   However, when I brought the fabric up to the register, I noticed the colors were off.  There was a whole section that was missing one of the colors.  The fabric was so soft and perfect for a thermal shirt I wanted to make, that I negotiated a price reduction and bought it anyway.  It would be at least be good to make as a muslin, right?

I was able to cut out the front and back out from the fully colored section, but I had to cut the arms out on the faded part.  Since I was using white ribbed knit for the cuffs and neckband, the only section I had an issue with was the bottom band.  You can see that the front and back are different colors.  Since this was a pretty casual shirt, I wasn’t too worried about it.  I also wasn’t sure if I was going to keep the bottom band.  Although it does give the shirt a more clean look and allows you to avoid sewing a straight hem on a knit (which is difficult), I was unsure about the look for this particular shirt.
When I tried it on, I just felt it didn’t have the look I was envisioning.  The fabric was incredibly stretchy and it just didn’t seem to have the right shape, so I removed it.  I also decided against the idea of a regular hem and to make things simple, I just used my serger to seal the bottom edge.  No bulkiness and no uneven hems – perfect.

Ribbed for her pleasure

The main reason I chose this pattern is because I knew I wanted ribbed cuffs and collar, like other thermal shirts I had.  This pattern used bands for the neck and sleeves, which were easy to cut on my ribbed knit.  They came out really good, I think.

Adding these type of cuffs throw me off a little.  It very important you cut these so the ribbing is in the correct direction.  Then it needs to be folded appropriately so that edge is finished correctly.

A spot of fun

This pattern is fantastic for beginners, especially for people not used to working with knits.  The use of bands helps to finish the garment nicely and the directions are clear and simple.  The only thing left was to take it out on the town!  Luckily that weekend I was up in New Hampshire at “Funspot,” the world’s oldest arcade.

Now, I have a new waffle-knit shirt to wear out.  Soft, comfortable and perfect for those cold New England mornings.