I’ve been absolutely swamped with work recently (and when you’re self-employed this is no bad thing!) but I still managed to squeeze in a little Me Sewing on the side. I’m a big believer in sewing up a “quick knit top” when you need a mojo boost, and this top probably took an hour in total, from tracing to cutting to sewing to wearing, split into several ten minute segments snatched here and there – the busy woman’s way to getting stuff sewn!
This wonderful monochrome poly jersey was a gift from my friend Claire, who is like my fabric fairy godmother or something – I swear she knows my taste better than I do!! I mean, how me is this fabric!? I’m not ashamed to admit that I cut into this the day after she gave it to me (with homemade, sewing-themed gluten free cookies, no less!!), as I’d been thinking about sewing up a turtleneck (polo neck) top anyway.
I decided to use this Burda magazine pattern from the September 2012 issue (a rather good one considering that the “chic sweatshirt” and the Matthew Williamson designer dress also came from it!), and it’s really just a basic long sleeved tee with a big rectangle for a collar.
The nice thing about simple patterns like this is that they take virtually no time (or brain power!) to put together. Once you’ve sewn one teeshirt, you’ve basically sewn them all, and you can just get on with wearing it!
Even though I’ve got my own teeshirt block I’ve used extensively (including for things like this geometric teeshirt as well as a yet-unblogged-but-did-Instagram-ages-ago Fair Isle sweater from earlier this year), I was getting a bit bored with it and wanted something to compare it to before cutting into my prized NZ-imported merino jersey.
And the verdict? Well, my own draft is eerily similar both in terms of fit and the pattern shapes themselves. There’s a little difference in the sleeve shape, but otherwise I appear to like my fit to be along the same lines as Burda’s, which is probably just a natural progression from sewing so many of their patterns over the past fiften years…
The one thing I will be changing before cutting into my merino jersey though, is the collar – it’s heowge!!
I’m mostly wearing it doubled over but it’s still big! I’m happy to make the next one half the height, and I’ll still have plenty of collar left to keep my neck warm.
So a big thank you to Claire for giving me this wonderful fabric and a bit of warm Selfish Sewing in amoungst my deadlines! 
That fabric is great. So you. I have just made a turtleneck and that was huge too but we need the extra in Yorkshire K xXx
I dunno, it’s gone freezing down here in London so it must be even worse up North right now! But I’ve heard Yorkshire lasses are built a bit tougher.
It looks great on you hun ! I was so pleased that you liked the fabric – it barely got to live in your stash before you stitched it up + that huge neck is tempting me to make one now – I luv super long polonecks haha!
thank you! Yes, this polo neck is definitely for you then!!
This is lovely! Great fabric. I’m a big believer in a quick knit top refresher too
thanks! Yes, they’re totally cathartic aren’t they!
Why not add two peep holes in the pulled-ed neck?
hahah that’d be too much like the Great Cornholio Beavis and Butthead top from the Pattern Magic Stretch Fabric book!
HA! I love that pattern. Great fabric you used.
I made one when it came out and took a pic with exactly the same over the head pose. I used a very light knit so the collar works, but it’s a good reminder that a thicker knit will want a different collar…unless you like the whiplash collar look of course.