Chambray and Stripes Mariposa tee

Pattern: Mariposa Tee by Sew Liberated. I purchased mine from Backstitch.

Size: size 8/10 from top to bottom

Alterations: None! Although next time, I'll raise the armhole by about 1,5cm.

Fabric: locally purchased striped jersey and chambray leftover from my Bleuet dress.

What I liked: I've had this pattern for almost 2 years (!!!) but I was always very intimidated by it, because of my irrational fear of knits (which I'm slowly conquering). I also never seemed to find some decent jersey in my fabric shopping adventures, but when I saw this striped one I knew it was perfect for this project.
I couldn't be happier with the color and texture combo of this t-shirt: chambray + black and white fit seamlessly in my wardrobe.

The fit was very good on me, especially considering this is straight out the envelope (I didn't make a muslin). I love how drapey and effortless it looks: the gathered sleeves and the gathers at the center front and back create a beautiful effect.

Another big plus of this project is that it requires very little fabric, so it's a great scrap-buster. Because the t-shirt is so blousey, I think you could also get away with using a woven fabric for the main bodice, as long as it's very lightweight and drapey (for example, a voile).

What I did not like: Now, the not-so-great part... The construction of this t-shirt was a pain in the butt, to put it mildly. I thought it was a one-afternoon project, and it turned out to be more of a two-days-with-lots-of-swearing one.

All those nice yoke pieces were the death of me. They have a 1/4" seam allowance and the instructions have you cut a cardboard template without the seam allowance so that you can press the fabric over them (does that make sense? I hope so). This process alone took FOREVER, so next time I'm going to thread mark the seam allowances, clip them and sew them without pressing them. I think this will speed things up by a lot and it will avoid accidents when clipping the seam allowance (see the curve at the center of neckline, looking like crap).

Another thing I hated with all my heart were the sleeves. You have two sleeve pieces that you are supposed to join using steam-a-seam tape on the edge and then topstitch. WHY? Why breaking up the beautiful drape of these sleeves? I didn't take the time to read the instructions carefully before cutting and after sewing my messy sleeves I just wanted to get it over with this t-shirt, so I didn't recut them. Next time, I'll definitely redraft them as one piece.

The armhole is also quite low (you can spy a bit of my bra from the side), so I'm going to raise it by 1,5cm for my next version.

Finally, I should also mention that the pattern sheets are kinda crappy. They're made of flimsy paper and there are almost no markings to help you find and follow the lines corresponding to your size. All the lines are plain and there are no little numbers at the corners to help you out, so the tracing process can be quite frustrating. 

All in all, construction and pattern sheets aside, I'm in love with this t-shirt. I've been wearing it with the black capris you see in this photo or with jeans. I have yet to try it with a high-waisted skirt, but I don't think it would be the best look for it.

I definitely plan to make more with a few improvements, as soon as I find some more cute jersey.