Hey, it's the Lane Raglan by Hey June Patterns! I am seriously so excited about this because I have been looking for a great basic raglan knit t-shirt pattern and it's finally here! The neckline placement is perfect for me and I like having the option for sleeve and waistband cuffs. Mostly, I love that it is a great basic raglan tee pattern - the first I've been able to find anywhere.
I made this up in a white bamboo/lycra jersey and a cotton/lycra jersey 'floral knit red' from Harts Fabrics.
I also loved the 'floral knit blue' but I decided that my wardrobe needed some more red.
These two fabrics were a challenge to marry together because the white fabric was so much stretchier than the floral.
My serger threw a fit while I was sewing and the upper looper threads pulled to the wrong side. This is a problem because the seam was pulling open. After messing with the knobs for a half an hour, I was no closer to a solution. I rethreaded the serger and realized that the thread from the lower looper hadn't been hooked into one of the hooks and it was making the serger stitching all wonky. Duhh!! Problem solved!
I like that this pattern instructs the sewist to insert the neck band before sewing up the 4th sleeve seam. Easy as pie! I've noticed some sewists did not follow Hey June's instructions on stretching the neck band as it is sewn into the neckline, and instead they use the entire pattern piece regardless of the fabric's percent stretch. This results in a neckband that gapes and does not hug the neck. I used Claire Thorp's method for inserting the neck band. I love Claire's method because it is quick, there is no measuring, and I got a perfect looking neckband the first try.
I topstitched the neckband with a twin needle. You'll notice that I chose to leave my sleeve edges unfinished this go around. They are fuss free! I loved working with this pattern and can't wait to make another in a grey polka dot. (Sorry about the blurry photos - the dreary weather did not cooperate and I hate using a flash.)
Does anybody have tips for working with extremely stretchy knits? I've tried changing the differential feed, stitch length and moving to my sewing machine and using the walking foot with the lightning bolt stitch. The seams are still wavy. Have any of you tried a stabilizer for your knits? It would have to be something temporary because I do want the seam to be stretchy. Let me know if you have any secret tricks!