The Perfect T-Shirt

I didn't name it that, Pamela did.  I don't know if it's perfect but it is pretty good. It is as good as any t-shirt I've ever bought at a store. It's Pamela's Patterns Perfect T-shirt #104

I showed two shirts in my last post made with the darted front pattern. I was pretty happy with them, but remained curious to whether my dartless FBA in a knit fabric would achieve a better fit.   This is what my dartless  FBA for knits looks like:

Here are the two versions side by side:

Dart on the left, no dart on the right.

The verdict?  

I'm deadlocked on this one. I'm not crazy about the look of a dart on a t-shirt, I would never put it in a solid fabric & it doesn't do a thing to keep the front hem of the shirt from sticking out, but it does look way nicer on the side.

See the drag lines on the undarted one?

You probably didn't until I brought it to you attention, but it they're there. Every RTW t-shirt I own does this to.  
I did put the dart in the next two, so I'd say my hung jury is about 10-2 in favor of the dart!

Four different neckline treatments

The first one is a simple wide binding.  I use the technique by Sarah Veblen from Threads magazine: 

Same technique, but double layer:

  This one is a wide binding like the first one by its twisted slightly:

 The last one is a boat neck.  

This one is  actually my favorite of the lot. Pamela made  a supplemental pattern of different necklines and sleeves and this is one of the necklines. The large busted are usually averse to high necklines, but I think the boat neck is an exception to that rule. Due to fabric constraints, this one also has 3/4 length sleeves, which I prefer to long sleeves even though its hard to get other clothes on over them. 

Pattern Adjustments

I used the darted front pattern. The pattern comes with lines printed on it for shortening both above and below the bust. I shortened it in both places. I also did a slight slope shoulder adjustment, straightened the hem (the pattern has a shirttail hem), raised the bottom of the armhole & made the sleeve tighter and made the hips and the shoulders narrower. So many changes on a perfect pattern!

I cut out a size medium and used between 3/8 inch and 1 1/4 inch seam allowances depending on the fabric. Err on the side of selecting a smaller size than usual with this pattern. 

And don't sew the dart until after the shoulders are sewn and so you can see how much the knit drapes on the figure. I learned this from Shams. Thanks Shams!!

I started these shirts when it was bitterly cold here to fill a hole in my wardrobe. I have two more different long sleeve knit tops to go, but I'm done with this pattern for now. I will come back to it this summer though.