T-shirt to vest using So Zo's free pattern

This is another from the lingering Guilt Pile discussed in the last post.  It was originally a t-shirt my parents brought me back from Canada when I was about 14.  My Mum has an embarrassing photo of me as a greasy, spotty teenager with braces, MASSIVE glasses (not in an ironic hipster way, I can assure you) and bad posture wearing this t-shirt.  Which, incidentally, was about 7 sizes too big.  Sexy.

I've always really liked the print though, being a giant science/animals geek.  So when I saw So Zo's amazing free t-shirt to vest pattern, this t-shirt immediately sprung to mind.  Unfortunately however, I went through a t-shirt surgery phase when I was about 18 so had already had a botched attempt to turn this oversized shirt into something more wearable.  Folk who follow me on Instagram may have already seen the results of this.  Unsurprisingly it sat unworn under my bed for the past decade (almost) until digging it out to model for this photo and then instantly applying to the scissors.



Sexy halter-neck.  Doesn't it scream '90s, B*Witched and Charmed to you?

This took several attempts, along with everything I've sewn recently.  It would be nice if something could work first time, y'know?  It was my attempt at using fold over elastic, which let me tell you, is not as simple as Zoe makes out.  The first attempt came out super saggy, in the style of those off-white/grey M&S granny pants we all own somewhere in the depths of the underwear drawer.  Again, folk on Instagram will have seen this already, as I recoiled in horror from my reflection in the mirror.



Careful unpicking of the elastic and a switch from the suggested 3 step zig-zag back to regular zig-zag stitch and I was  away.  The second attempt is far from perfect, it was still moderately saggy but making the straps shorter seems to counter balance some of that.  It fits better across the back and whilst it has it's issues, it's definitely more wearable now than in it's previous XXXL and '90s incarnations.  The regular zig-zag seems to help keep the elastic flatter against the body, I was stretching it the same amount as it passed through the machine as previously but it's definitely a better fit now, I'm less concerned that my boobages are going to be flashing anyone.





Overall, not perfect but wearable.  And I learned some things along the way.  Like jersey is a fucking nightmare and I'm not touching it with a barge pole for a long time to come.