White Jersey Shirt

It isn't always evident at the time which makes will turn out to be the good ones but I was fairly certain that my grey jersey shirt would become a much loved staple and it has quickly become just that. So much so that I decided to make another. I wanted to make myself a white long sleeved top and the design of this shirt is perfect in that it elevates a very basic garment into something a bit more interesting while still being basic enough to easily pair with clothes.

I made this shirt in exactly the same way that I made the last one with the addition of long sleeves instead of short ones. The different weight fabric means that it hangs differently as the white jersey is slightly thicker than the grey and although I prefer the grey one slightly the white still feels fine and the stiffness wouldn't have been something I'd have noticed had I not had the grey shirt to compare it to. The pattern I drafted for the grey top worked out really well the first time round which doesn't happen often and it was nice to be able to just sew this without having to draft a pattern. I actually really like the addition of the long sleeves, I've noticed that I have very few long sleeved t-shirts that aren't jumpers and this new top has definitely filled a gap. Once again I repeated the lettuce hem on the sleeves and hem which for me is the perfect way to finish jersey garments. I love the contrast between a shirt like collar and buttons with the more casual jersey and lettuce hem finish.

My new favourite technique is to sew buttons through both layers without needing buttonholes - it's the best! The buttonholes are completely unnecessary on jersey too as the farbic is stretchy enough to easily go over my head. For both of my jersey shirts I removed buttons from old shirts of my dad as they're the perfect size and colour, although I am running out of old shirts with buttons on now!

I've been amazed at just how much I've worn my grey top and I'm so glad to have made another. I actually used the wrong side of the fabric accidentally but I love how it's turned out as the wrong side of the rib provides a really nice texture! I made this top a while ago as it was made with the same fabric that I bought to make this top for my friend's birthday and in the time since making it I've worn this one quite a bit too and definitely want to make a couple more, both long sleeved and short sleeved ones.