We have something a little different for you today! Shop Girls Mary, Valerie, and Henna all had the Tabor V-Neck from Sew House Seven on their to-sew lists for the fall, so they coordinated their projects and now we’re sharing what each of them made. It’s great fun to be able to have sew-alongs with friends, even if it is mostly virtual these days!
Read along to see what each of them thought of this pattern.
Mary:
Mary made View #1, which has a lapped neckband, in our Bamboo/Cotton Jersey – 200gsm in the color Chili.
“I made a muslin of this Tee last summer and really liked the pattern. It is well drafted, goes together quickly and is wonderfully comfortable. I sized down one size because I didn’t want as much ease as the pattern calls for. There’s a 9” difference between the bust measurement and the finished garment bust measurement, which is good to keep in mind when you make this. I also shortened the top by 2” and the sleeves by 1” (I am only 5’3” so I shorten just about everything).
Bamboo/Cotton/Spandex is a soft, smooth, cozy knit fabric. It is perfect for tee shirts, knit dresses, light weight leggings, and pajamas. Red is my happy color, so how could I go wrong?
The first Tabor I made was a light weight lyocell knit. I used the narrow-mitered neckband, but I found it a little too long for the opening. The neckband sagged, so I removed between ½ -3/4” from the length and then it laid flat.
I like the way Sew House Seven has you sew in the neckband. I have had success every time – no puckers or bumps at the “V”. Make sure you mark the center back of your back piece and your neckband to make easing in the neckband easier.
The Tabor Pattern offers 3 sleeve lengths, 3 slightly different V-necklines, and 3 hem variations. Just changing the knit fabric from light weight to a cozy sweater knit, provides you with tons of possibilities. I love Valerie’s sweater version – I think that must go on my “to make” list.
Valerie:
Valerie made two views of the Tabor! For View #2, with the narrow mitered neckline, she used our Black Floral Rayon Jersey Knit. Her second Tabor is View #5 (with long sleeves added), in our Rayon/Cotton/Modal Sweater Knit in the color Reign.
“The pattern is pretty straightforward and the construction is very intuitive. I especially love that they have you use a tiny bit of interfacing to stabilize the shoulders and the v-neck (I used french fuse in black). It looks great on the finished garments! I also love that there are so many neckline, hemline, and sleeve options!
The only thing about the instructions I would do differently is how to attach the neck band. I love that they instruct you to sew the very point of the V first! But the instructions say to stretch the back of the neckband more than the front when sewing the whole thing in place, and I don’t think that’s a good idea.
I did that on the t-shirt version, and it ended up with the center front of the V gaping open a little bit – I had to go in and take it out and re do it, stretching the front a little bit more than the back to get it to lie flat.
On the sweater version I did the same, stretching the front a tiny bit more, and it came out perfectly. Also, when I make another Tabor (which I definitely will!), I will make sure to mark the mid-points between the center front and center back (on both the neckband and the neckline), so I can use those marks as guidelines when pinning the neckband in place.”
Henna:
Henna made View #4, which is the sweater with a wide, lapped neckband, long sleeves, and a split hem with mitered corners. She used our Bamboo/Cotton French Terry in the color Heather Lake, with matching 2×2 Rib Knit for the neckband.
“I love this French Terry because of its weight (warm, but not too heavy), softness, and stretch. I probably could have used the same fabric for the neckband, but having matching ribbing makes my garments feel a little fancier and makes those neckline seams less bulky.
The whole thing sewed up really nicely. Like Mary and Valerie, I also found the V-neck instructions really thorough and clear, leading to great results. I’m happy with the way the neckband lays, and I also think it’s nicely contoured for being so wide. Sometimes patterns have wide neckbands that “ruffle” at the inner edge, but this one lays smoothly.
The mitered corners on the hem are such a nice touch (and easy to sew!) – I love the little details that make this pattern a little different from your average sweater. If you want to hem with a twin needle, I highly recommend using the narrow 2.5/75 Stretch (2.5 is the spacing between the two needles) – it makes it much easier to get cleanly turned corners.”
Stitch Samples is a blog series that gives you a closer look at the samples made by members of our shop gang.
