Your Sew Over 50 go-to tee-shirt patterns

We asked you another question on @SewOver50 in October-which were your favourite go-to, never-fail, T-N-T T-shirt (tee shirt?) patterns and naturally you came up with a veeeeerrrry long list. I’ve trawled through them all and simply listed them here with a link (if I found one) for each so you can check them out for yourselves. As blogs go, it’s a bit of a dull one but you might it useful and maybe find your next new favourite pattern amongst these. Needless to say there are probably another one or two hundred more patterns which you think ought to be on this list!

I’m not recommending or endorsing any of these patterns personally, they have all been suggested by you, the enthusiastic followers.

Melissa Breton Tee-Thrifty Stitcher -relaxed drop-shoulder tee with 3/4 sleeves and a bateau neckline

Plantain-Deer & Doe–free pattern (if you sign up on the website) loose-fitting tee with a low scooped neckline and 3 sleeve options.

#1366 Cynthia Rowley Simplicity-loose fitting top

Mandy Boat Tee-Tessuti–free pattern boat neck drop-shoulder Tee with 3/4 sleeves

Ola-Tessuti-tunic top

#3338 Kwik Sew-I can’t find this one, possibly discontinued?

Astoria-Seamwork-cropped length, fitted long-sleeve top

Classic Tee-Love Notions -close-fitting tee with 3 neck options and 3 sleeve lengths

Laundry Day tee-Love Notions-fitted tee with 3 necklines and 5 sleeves options

Basic Instinct shirt-Secondo Piano-classic simple tee

Freya Agnes Coco-TATB-Tilly has a range of jersey tops and dresses with a variety of necklines and sleeve options.

Moneta-Colette patterns-Moneta is a dress pattern in stretch fabric with a fitted bodice and a couple of sleeve options.

#2805-Jalie Patterns-t-shirt with 4 sleeve and 4 neckline options. It has a huge range of sizes

Statement Tee-Ottobre magazine 2017/2 various options so check the website

Wardrobe Builder Tee-Wardrobe by Me (not many instructions apparently) close fitting tee with 3 body lengths, 5 necklines and 6 sleeve-lengths!

Uvita-Itch to Stitch-dropped shoulder bateau-neck tee with 2 sleeve lengths

Pamela’s Perfect Tee-Pamela’s patterns-longer length fitted tee with several neckline and sleeve options

Green Tee-Greenstyle Creations-longer length fitted tee with scoop or V neck and lots of sizes

Lark-Grainline-a popular pattern with 4 neckline options and 4 sleeve lengths.

Stellan Tee-French Navy Now–free pattern a boxy tee, not sure how many sizes.

The Astair tee-another boxy tee also from French Navy Now with sleeve variations and a patch pocket.

Renfrew-Sewaholic another classic tee with several sleeve lengths and various necklines

Kirsten Kimono Tee-Maria Denmark-close-fitting cap-sleeved tee

Carine Tee-Elbe Textiles–free pattern cropped tee

Lane Raglan-Hey June-scooped neck raglan tee and sweatshirt pattern

Jade-Made by Rae-scooped neck tee in a wide size range

Concord-Cashmerette-lots of options in curvier sizes

Molly Top-SOI City break eBook classic drop shoulder tee

Eva-Pattern Union-a simple close-fitting tee with long or short sleeves.

Geneva Tee-Named raglan tee with long sleeves

Ruska-Named-Breaking the Pattern-tee shirt/dress with various options

Ultimate T-shirt-Threadcount free gift pattern from a back issue of Love Sewing magazine

Panama-Alina Design-tee shirt with dress-length options

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Update January 2022

This has probably been the single most popular post on the blog since I first published it over two years ago so I thought it could do with an update because new patterns will have been released, or missed off last time, and many have become very popular in that time. As before, these were all suggested by you dear reader so, in no particular order, they are as follows…

Rae top by Tessuti patterns, a pretty gathered neckline and several sleeve options

Iris by Forget-me-Not patterns a simple shape but with an interesting pleated short sleeve

Peak Tee by Wendy Ward in her book Beginners Guide to Sewing with Knitted Fabrics

Somerset top by Maven patterns (I’ve used this one myself a number of times including for this hack) bateau neckline with several sleeve options including to a bishop sleeve with deep cuff

Frankie from Tilly and the Buttons in her book Stretch, a simple raglan sleeve

Rio ringer from True Bias (this also has a children’s size range too)

Gable top by Jennifer Lauren Handmade, 50s-inspired slash neckline

Basic block Tee by Fehrtrade in her book Sew Your Own Activewear

Fog Tee is from The Fabric Store

Tabitha from Tilly and the Buttons in the book Make It Simple (I used the lengthened version for this Minerva make)

Nora is a loose-fit T-shirt by TATB (they are good at basics!) there is now a cardi version available too

Needless to say this is still in no way an exhaustive list but they have all been used, and recommended, by you. There are some freebies which might be worth a try, as well as pricier options.

Until next time,

Happy sewing

Sue

The Frilled Hem Top from Trend Patterns

Trend are fashion-forward indie pattern company based in London and I’ve already used their Asymmetric Dress pattern twice (and reviewed it here) I even wore the first one for the Love Sewing magazine Sew Over 50 photo shoot too because I felt it was such a striking but wearable dress that it deserved to be seen in a national sewing publication!

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I made this version in brocade for our cruise to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in March…

…and it has a pocket!

The next Trend pattern I’ve decided to tackle is the Frilled Hem Top TPC5 and it’s another goody as far as I’m concerned. As well as the ruffle detail it features some interesting diagonal seam lines (there’s no side seam) The degree of difficulty is described as moderate and I’d agree with that because although the techniques used aren’t difficult you need to keep your wits about you to ensure that you’re attaching the pieces to the right seams, it could be easy to lose sight of which way up they are because the usual ‘landmarks’ like armholes or necklines aren’t so obvious. There are photographs as well as written instructions, which are fairly clear, at the end of the day it’s a simple top and so long as the ruffle goes in first attached to the right pieces then adding the back yoke and sleeves is straightforward. I hadn’t got a suitable zip, I’d thought about using an exposed metal zip but the one I had in my stash was too chunky for the weight of the fabric so I opted for a simple button and hand sewn loop closure instead.

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My fabric was a very thin cotton I’d picked up from a swap sometime ago-I couldn’t really say what it is as it isn’t soft like lawn, or sheer like voile, it’s slightly more crisp like poplin but less weighty. Whatever, it’s worked just fine for this and it didn’t cost me anything!

As I was making the top at this year’s Stitchroom Sewcial I was fortunate to be able to use the industrial rolled hem machine to finish the edge of the ruffle, it’s super-quick and neat and took me about 30 seconds to hem the whole piece instead of my usual pin-hem finish which would take at least half an hour!

As I didn’t have much fabric, plus I wanted to wear it as a summer top, I cut the sleeves down to short length. I was a little concerned that they looked like they may be a bit snug on my not-very-slim arms, the bicep measurement seemed to be ok but the crown looked narrow. I decided to go ahead and insert the sleeves and actually they are just fine as you can see from the photos. As there is no underarm seam to match the sleeve to it’s vital that the shoulder/sleeve head notches are marked or you’ll struggle to insert them properly. I’ve made a straight-from-the-packet size 14 again and the fit is spot on for me with no alterations, it’s a good fit across the shoulders and upper chest area and then flares out over the hips.

There are two points in the instructions which are useful and important to follow. The first is very simple, it tells you to ’sink stitch’ (that’s what it always was until ’stitch in the ditch’ became a thing) through the shoulder seams to hold the neck facings securely in position, this is both quicker and more effective than hand stitching them down I always think. The second point is that you can’t sew the whole hem up all in one go, you’ll need to sew the centre front section, stop, move the frill out of the way and then recommence the rest of the hem. If you don’t you’ll just sew over the frill which will look terrible.

You’ll need to sew the hem between the frills separately to the rest of the hem, moving the frill out of the way.

I finished off the neckline with a button and loop.

I love this detail where the frill, the back and the side all meet.

So that’s the Frilled Hem Top, it should probably take around half to a whole day to make, it took me longer because I was nattering at the Sewcial quite a lot, and then I made a super-quick Mandy Boat T-shirt using the industrial coverlock machines in between too.

This was my other Sewcial make, the Mandy Boat Tee which is a free pattern from Tessuti. I’ve made it in a gorgeous jersey form Lamazi Fabrics which I’ve learnt was recently discontinued.

If you’re interested in the jeans they are Megan Nielsen Ash which I tested nearly two years ago and I LOVE wearing.

The TPC5 takes a little under 2 metres of fabric, probably less if you’re making it sleeveless or short sleeves. The size range isn’t extensive, 6-16 UK sizes, and they aren’t the cheapest but I’ve been very happy with the two I have and I’ll definitely make some more variations of this particular pattern. You could create some really interesting looks by using contrasting fabrics or colours, or leave out the frill completely to show off the unusual seam lines?

Trend have a wide range of patterns now, which don’t necessarily appeal to everyone but I think they are well worth a look at because of their unusual styling and details. They may look scarily fashion-forward but if you want something which is less predictable and run-of-the-mill in a sea of ‘meh’ patterns then, in my unsolicited opinion, they are a good bet. They often have a flash discount offer too so keep your eyes peeled for them!

Until next time, Happy Sewing

Sue