Sew Comfy, Jalie 3245 Raglan Tee in a Sweater Knit

I love this top!  I do love me a raglan, (no shoulders to fit) I love the length, and the fabric is wonderful!  It’s soft, warm, light, stretchy, has memory, and it’s in my favourite colour family.  Buy it here:  Distinctive Sewing Supplies

 

These two are from the same pattern, Jalie 3245, Tee Shirt Raglan, but ended up looking quite different.

to left
left front

For this new version (on the left) I raised the neckline by 2 inches, and shortened the length by one inch.  I also changed the neckline finish from a narrow folded to the front band to a wider attached neckband. (but that wasn’t in the original plan, more on that in a bit)

I like it.  I subscribe to the weekly newsletter from Distinctive Sewing Supplies, and every Friday Catherine sends out a great newsletter.  One of them showed this incredible fabric, and I knew I needed some.

And as soon as it arrived I had stash it up high so “nosy cat” couldn’t tear the bag open.  (He recognizes soft and cozy)

I really like the label on the bag!

I did raise the neckline by two inches, and that involved the area at the front of the raglan sleeve as well.

front neck alteration
neck alteration on sleeve top

 I fused one inch wide strips of knit fusible interfacing along all the neckline edges, which I always do on knits.

 Construction was quick and easy, I used a 4-thread overlock on my serger for all the seams.

The neckline finish with this pattern involves cutting a one inch wide strip of fabric, attaching it to the inside, then folding it around the seam before top-stitching it to the right side. 

It went ok, I serged the first step,  then tried to fold it around the seam.  Smoothly.  Pinning was a pain.  I decided to use 1/4 inch wide steam-a-seam to fuse it down instead.  Brilliant, right?  It went pretty well.   But, when I tried it on, the neckline was stretched out of shape, and steaming it with my iron didn’t help much. 

No picture.

I picked out the top-stitching.

I pulled the fused fold apart.

I picked out the serging.

I threw the neck-strip in the garbage.

Then I steamed the entire neck area back into the right shape.  Now I can start again.  And I have a plan.

I cut a strip of the sweater knit 2 1/4 inches wide and the length of the neckline across the grain.  (mine was 26 inches.  This was pressed in half longways with wrong sides together.  Then I used a narrow zig-zag stitch to baste the edges of the center area together.  I left about 6 inches at each end not basted.

With my top on the ironing board, and matching the center of the band with the center front, I stuck in a pin to hold it.  Then working up one side of the neck, I stretched the basted area of the band while keeping the folded part smooth and stuck pins in the hold it as I went.  When I got to the center back I marked the band with a pin. 

Then I removed the band, leaving a pin in it at the center front and measured between the pins.  That was half of my neck band, times 2 equals the needed length.   The extra was cut off, leaving 1/4 inch at each end for seam allowance.  I joined it with the serger, and after 1/4 pinning, the rest went really well.

The hems were basted in place using Heat & Bond Feather Lite, then cover stitched. 

I love my new sweater!

Yvette Chilcott

I'm a mother of 3, stepmother of 3. My hubby and I share our home with 2 cats, and my hobbies, including my food experiments.

6 Responses

  1. Looks good.
    Question about patterns … I have lots from the 60’s, 70’s 80’s, all probably used but with all the pieces. Looking for suggestions as to what to do with them beside wrap up crockery for packing 🙂

    • Interesting question Linda, decoupage? Paper Mache? Yard sale? Wrapping crockery? Donate to thrift shop? That’s all I can come up with at the moment, have fun with them.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Post comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.