After working on drafting a bra, I wanted an easy sewing project. I knew just what to sew.

I pulled out my Perfect T-Shirt pattern.

This was my third time making this pattern. The first one was pretty good, but the neckline was a bit loose. I adjusted the shoulder so the neckline would fit better for the second one, and have loved it. So this third one, well, all the alterations I needed for this had already been done, so it was simply a matter of cutting it out and sewing it up.

This T-Shirt pattern was shown on Sewing with Nancy – that was where I first saw it. I recorded the show thinking I’d watch while making up the tee. You can watch it here.

However, being in Canada, I’ve had a hard time finding the notions used in the show and recommended on the Pamela’s Patterns website:

Knit Stay Tape (neckline), Woven Stay Tape (shoulders), Double Sided Fusible Stay Tape (hems)

The Stay Tape is shown here in a screen shot from the show.

I asked at my local fabric store what they’d recommend instead of the Stay Tape. One of the staff there sews a lot of knits; she said she uses knit interfacing for the neckline and hems. She uses a woven interfacing for the shoulders. I did just that. Here is my first tee showing the woven interfacing on the shoulders. (I didn’t take any photos during sewing this time.)

I have to say, I’ve made three tees this way now, and the interfacing works beautifully. If the Stay Tapes aren’t available in your area, knit and woven interfacing works and is probably a lot less expensive.

Here’s my last tee’s hem with the knit interfacing for the hem. I cut a 1″ strip and fused it onto the tee.

Below is a screen shot from the show where they’ve used Double Sided Fusible Stay Tape:

Looking at this, I’m thinking the interfacing would take less time than the Stay Tape. They’ve had to cut the Stay Tape so it will curve along the hem. There’s no cutting the interfacing once you’ve cut the strip because it’s a knit. It curves along any curves very easily. I do have to use pins though, where they’re not using any pins.

Here’s my new tee. It was a lovely quick sew, and I know I’ll enjoy wearing this as much as I’ve enjoyed my last two Perfect tees.

Here’s the front.

Here are the back and side.

This is a darted tee, so the fit is very flattering. However, there are a couple of little construction aspects I’m not sure I love. I’m showing them in the set of photos below.

When sewing on the neckband, it’s the standard quarter the neckband and distribute it equally around the neckline. It even says this for the scoop neckline, which I used. I wasn’t thinking when I sewed it up because it’s not equal distances all around the neckline. You can see the difference between the front and back below in the first two photos.

One other design aspect to this tee is the curved hem, which is flattering on, but to keep the material from distorting, I had to narrow the hem at the sides. (That’s the third photo.) It’s about 1/2-inch on either side and it’s 1-inch for the rest of the hem.

It’s not a problem as along as I’m aware I need to make these changes. So, I’ll make a note on the pattern to remind myself of both of these issues for the next time I sew a Perfect T-Shirt.

Happy creating!