I only rarely sew an exact replica of a pattern, but sometimes I’m just drawn to the same pattern and similar fabric to recreate a look that I know really works for me. ATACAC are Swedish designers who sell short-runs of their very interesting wraparound and zero-waste designs to the public but also offer up sharewear patterns on a “pay what you want” basis, which is SUPER cool. These patterns are pretty bare bones though, so you’ve really got to know what you’re doing. They’re only offered in one size only (size 3), for starters, and with no instructions! I personally love nothing more than seeing a “wtf pattern piece” and trying to make my 3D brain contort it into shape, so I absolutely love figuring out their designs, but you might prefer something more user-friendly!
I made the /-shirt in a blue and white irregular striped jersey two years ago and just LOVED IT OMG SO MUCH but the fabric was poor quality and pilled after only a few wears and very quickly became too ratty to wear. I bought some orange, pink, and black striped lightweight jersey from Girl Charlee UK (no longer operating) last year to recreate it and I’ve only just gotten around to it now!
You should really click through to my earlier post because there’s a TON of information in there and I really made no changes whatsoever this time around. But the TL:DR version is:
- Yes, that pattern piece is totally WTF
- Nope, no instructions (though I did share an order of construction in my post)
- I ran into the same issue as before with the neckband and the facing where I get a weird raw edge I had to fudge. I wish I could see a detailed shot of their samples so I can see how they intended it be finished off!
- I’m really, really glad I hung onto my little paper model because it really helps to visualise what gets joined to what!
Despite the strange, amoeboid pattern piece, this actually comes together really quickly once you work out what gets attached where! I used the same method for the V-neck binding here that I use in my VNA Top pattern instructions, which is my preferred way of finishing V-necks.
I think the spiral sleeve might be my favourite part of this – it comes together like magic and it feels like you’ve created a sleeve out of nothing!
It’s quite a forgiving size (ie: it’s quite big in the body and sleeves!) and works equally well for men or women, in my opinion!
I think it’s a great way to elevate a striped fabric into something other than just a regular Breton tee, and I want to applaud ATACAC for making their patterns available to us, too!