A spotty, stripy piece of Cake

So here’s one I made a few weeks back, sometime around mid-May, even. Since it was a spot of pattern testing, I went out and got photos (not knowing how much longer it would fit me for at the moment, gotta seize those photo opportunities when I can, haha!), and waited for the pattern to be released.

And now, it has!

It’s the new The Tee pattern from Cake. A nice,simple tee with cut-on sleeves, two neckline options, a wide hem band, and cute little micro pockets for details.

And not only that – it’s available as a free download from Craftsy!

Cake – The Tee pattern

It’s a nice top to stitch up, too. Just like other Cake patterns, it’s a connect-the-dots type pattern, where you customise it based on your own measurements. There’s a stripe guide to make it easier to match up any patterns you’ve got happening in your fabric. And there’s even a pattern piece to cut a template for pressing the hems of the micro pockets, making it far easier to get a clean edge on them.

I stitched this one up in a remnant of tshirting that’s been lurking in my stash for, oh, I hate to think how long, but several years at least. (Eek!) Quite an unusual fabric – it’s double-sized, with the two sides woven separately but with some of the pattern woven through both sides which sticks them together. (If that makes any sense?)

Anyway, as a result of how the fabric is, it means the edges kinda curl up and away from each other, which is a pain to sew on things like micro pockets, but whatever, it still worked out ok despite the fabric’s quirks, although it did make it nearly impossible to get the edges of the micro pockets sitting right. (Also turns out the fabric had less cotton content than I thought. I may have found this out the hard way, with the help of my iron. Oops!)

Plus, since it was striped on one side and spotted on the other, it meant I could do contrast bands and pockets and they’d be in the exact same colours as the main fabric. Super-easy fabric matching. Win!

I must admit to using a different way of doing the v-neck’s point than the mitered one in the pattern, not for any particular reason except that I was stitching all this up on my overlocker (serger) and couldn’t be bothered changing machines. Yes, I can be that lazy at times. Sorry not sorry. (Although I am hanging my head in shame a little at the admission….)

Not a lot else to say about this pattern, really. It’s cute, it’s a good fit (slightly loose but not too loose – I am wearing it over a singlet and a merino top in these photos, so it’s looking a bit of a tighter fit than it actually is), and a simple make. Plus, you know, it’s free. 😉

(It’s also a good way to try out a Cake pattern, if you haven’t used one before.)

We took these photos out on a beach on Wellington’s south coast, directly before I stripped down to get photos of my Soma bikini. (Eek! Cooooold!).

Such a pretty beach. Crashing waves, rocks, and a doorway through a rock face. There’s just something about beaches in winter, don’t you think?