My first v-necks - The Dandelion Tee from Millicent Joy

I have been way behind in my posting my fall sewing. I have been sewing a lot, just not blogging about it apparently. I think the COVID blues finally set in for me in late summer/fall which might account for my failure to keep up with my posts; there were a few points when the sewing was more minimal too if I am being honest.

One of my recent initiatives has been v-neck tees. I sewed for literally years before I really noticed how few v-neck patterns there were for knits. They are a little harder to sew than a crew or scoop neck but it's a little surprising to me that there are so few vees out there, it's not impossible to learn!

Early on in the pandemic, I bought a couple of a patterns from the Makerist site. I think they were having a $2 pattern sale, and you know I cannot pass that up! One of the ones which found it's way into my cart was the Dandelion tee from Millicent Joy patterns.

I have now made this pattern 5 times! I have refined the fit so it's the perfect basic for me to make in various fabrics.

I have only made the v-neck shirt option but there are options in the pattern for rounded necklines and also a t-shirt dress. I have several other tee patterns, so was really attracted to this one for the v-neck but it's a great basic.

Version 1 in mystery box fabric

Fit comments

For me, the sleeves and armhole on this pattern are quite a bit too small. In looking at the drafting, the sleeves and armhole don't really get much larger as you move up the sizes. If am I a larger person, I need a larger armhole and sleeve. Now, I also have fairly large arms and often have this problem.

The neckline is also pretty large, I ended up moving it over a half an inch otherwise you would see my bra strap all the time. This is especially true if using a stretchier knit, the pattern calls for 30-40% but many knits are 50%+. My third version was way too stretchy and ended up being huge!

Now, the v-neck is the lowest of the necklines offered but I found it to be pretty low. I moved it up about an inch and I'm happier with that height. I feel like the scoops would feel even lower.

Lastly, this is more about pattern drafting than fit but I also found the neckband piece that's included to be too long, it was sticking out and I ended up taking it off and shortening it about .5".

Version 2 in ribbed pointelle

The v-learning curve

The pattern has directions on how to sew both a lapped vee and a seamed vee. I started with the lapped vee using the pattern directions and I struggled and ripped out my first attempt.

I then searched for alternative directions and found those from It's Always Autumn on how to sew a v-neck and I found her's to be very helpful. I followed them both for the lapped vee (just sewing my ends together) and the seamed vee.

Both of my first two versions have the same little pucker on my lap. With some practice, and maybe some Wash Away Wonder Tape, I could probably get rid of that. However on version 3 (no photo), I tried the seamed vee and it SO much easier, the first one was perfect!?!

It made a little bit of a bummer that the shirt is too big. Whatever, I rolled with it and wear it off-the-shoulder.

Version 4 in waffle knit

Versions 4 and 5 (no photo) are amazing for autumn in this waffle knit! This is a minor hack, I made it a 3/4 length sleeve with a cuff. 

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