Totally late to the Maria Denmark party is still better
than never, right? This is the Kirsten Kimono Tee, Maria Denmark’s first pattern and it’s a freebie to boot! Easy to make and easy to wear it makes a
great wardrobe staple.
Sometimes being a lazy seamstress pays off. I had downloaded this pattern seemingly
forever ago, printed & taped it together.
But I never traced it. Fast forward
to a version 7(!) being released that made me much happier. (Downloaded not as quite forever ago!) Now there are 8 sizes and they’re laid out
with each size being a different color. Oh
yeah, I printed it out on legal sized paper as I worried last time little bits
were cut off when using letter sized. This
time around I immediately traced and added seam allowances.
Now let’s talk fabric!
I had originally ordered this to make my mom a nightgown for Christmas. Only it didn’t fit right so I debated adding
side panels before realizing I had enough to recut. Which was great as I realized that it would
drive me batty trying to match the stripes across the solid inset. Yeah, I think about those kinds of
things. Good thing stripes don’t have a
top or bottom as I was able to flip the old nightgown upside down and squeeze out
this tee. So yea for not wasting fabric! To give it some interest I cut the neckband
so the stripes went in the opposite direction.
Since it’s just two pieces and a neckband the
construction goes super quick and was mostly done on my serger. I used clear elastic on the shoulder seams just
in case and out of habit, although it isn’t mentioned in the directions. I did baste the side seams together using my
walking foot to be extra sure all my stripes lined up. Then it was just a couple more trips through
the serger and the double needle treatment and bam! I had a brand new shirt.
 |
| I guess I really want you to check out my stripes |
This was actually a test version as I have some parrot
burnout jersey this would be perfect in.
A kimono top can be the ideal pattern for fabric with a design you don’t
want to break up with things like extra seams.
I’ve worn this tee several times since making it and really like the fit. Next time around I won’t change a thing. Although
at some point I might attempt a long sleeved version. To sum
things up, if you haven’t tried the goodness that is a Maria Denmark pattern, this
is a great introduction. Now to try out
the other patterns of hers I have waiting...
