Hi all! Wow – the summer is fairly flying by! I’ve been keeping busy the last few weeks with enjoying the great outdoors in glorious Washington and unfortunately my blogging has suffered a little. But I have been sewing! I have been spending rather a lot of my time figuring out the Hannah dress, which is finished, but for a few errors I need to fix. I also finished a woven circle skirt apart from the hook and a t-shirt for myself. But first I’m posting this second male Metro t-shirt that I finished for my husband.

I am really pleased with it, but the main reason I’m posting it is to compare using a thicker interlock knit with my first attempt, which was with a rayon knit – much slinkier and lighter. First thing: the design was something my husband actually requested as he has a practically identical t-shirt that he loves. I got the white interlock knit from JoAnn and the navy contrast knit was something I had lying around.

I made no adjustments to the pattern compared to last time as it fit well; that time I added an inch to the length due to my husband’s long torso. I made up a size XL based on his chest measurement – my husband is around 6 feet tall. The interlock knit was much easier to sew than the rayon, which made construction go without a hitch. I took a couple of little tucks last time, but no such thing occurred during this make. I used the serger for all the seams as per last time. I’m still not keen on the 1.4″ seam allowance; 3/8″ would be slightly easier to work with, but it’s a minor quibble.

The neckband went on beautifully using the serger, as did the sleeves. I started stitching the neckband seam down with a small stretch stitch, but it didn’t do well in the thick interlock knit. Frankly, I was being lazy because of the machine set-up changes. But I then relented and put on the walking foot and double needle, whacked the tension down to 2 – and it stitched sooo nicely. The thing that was putting me off was that it was taking me a while to manoeuvre the walking foot into place, but this time it took me 15 seconds. Wahey! One other thing I did was buy some new twin needles that were wider than the originals that came with my sewing machine. I lengthened the stitch to around 3mm and this all helped me achieve a nice smooth stitch around the neckline. I forgot to press the neckline in the photos, but I can assure you I’m very happy with it!

Overall, I’m super happy with this pattern. My husband loves the t-shirt and is trying to think up some new colour combinations for me to try. Honestly, it’s nice to see him enthusiastic about something I’ve made for him – it’s a win-win situation! 🙂 (Not that he doesn’t like what I make normally; I just haven’t made much for him). The interlock was definitely much more stable than the rayon: it didn’t stretch out of shape at all during construction or after and I suspect will be pretty steady over the course of a day. The hem is a little curvy right now, but I think that will right itself in the wash. It’s a thicker t-shirt but my husband reports it’s extremely comfortable and not too warm. In summation, although he likes the rayon, he prefers the interlock, so it’s probably something I’ll bear in mind next time.