Pattern Hack

Pattern testing has become one of my secret guilty pleasures. Pattern designers work tirelessly to create magnificent patterns and then put out a tester call to get seamstresses to test the pattern before it is released. When Kristi from George and Ginger Pattern Co. put out a call to test her fall line, there was no way that I was going to not apply for that one. These patterns are some of my favorites!!
The Ginger dress was my favorite this past winter. I made one during naptime when I couldn't figure out what I wanted to wear. Then made another one. And when you have a tween in the house, you make another one...

Quicker to make this than do laundry!

Brooklyn wore this for casual wear in

her middle school pageant.

My favorite. Wore this at least 

once a week during the winter.

Then there was the Downtown Coat that Miss Tween had to have and I loved sewing this one! That collar was to die for! And she rocked that circle skirt in a big way!

Downtown Coat

Enter the V-neck tee. This pattern is everything you would ever want in a shirt pattern. The pieces go together so perfectly. Kristi's directions, attention to details, and super stylish pieces are what makes these patterns so amazing!

The V-neck has a wide neck opening, longer length, and loose fit sleeves...everything that I love in a pattern! But, because it is a straight pattern from the armpit to the bottom hem, my big hips posed a bit of a problem. Though I am in the size range for the pattern, I'm a little uneasy with having things snug on my hips.

Dream fabric! Amazing pattern! But, do you see the stretching across my

midsection and hips? Not terrile, but not great.

So I looked at my favorite longer tunic shirt and noticed there were these awesome side vents. Looked easy enough! So here's my version of how to put these vents in a shirt.

SIDE VENTS:

1. Decide how high you want the vent to go. Because this pattern was a longer length pattern, I felt comfortable with the vent going up 7 inches from the bottom hem.

Cut a slit a the desired top of the vent, the depth of the seam allowance.

Pin the vent down from slit to the hem with WST and topstitch that down. This was a rayon/spandex blend fabric, so it won't fray. You can finish the edges first and then topstitch down if you'd like.

Put your front and back pieces RST as the pattern calls for and stop serging before you get to the top of the vent! You can see my serging thread is white and the black stitching is where I continued to stitch from the end of the serged seam to the just above the top of the vent.

Fold the seam allowance open from the clipped part up to the end of the serged seam. Topstitch that down each side. Then I closed the vent up just a teeny bit and stitched across it, up the side again, across the top and back down the other side to create a square around the top of the vent.

Then hem the shirt as directed. This technique would also allow for a very easy high/lo hem to be created. Just hem the front a bit more than the back!!! That just gave me an idea for the next one...

Here are some side by sides of before and after adding the vent at the hem.

Released all that gathering across my hips!

No more belly pooch showing! Woohoo!

And another one...

Paired this one with my new LulaRoe Leggings. OBSESSED!!!

And there's one more. This one was the first attempt at the vent seam. I only cut the vent 3 inches here. Still very wearable, but I'll likely go in and raise that vent up.

Now, where do I get that amazing V-neck pattern you ask? And how much is that pattern?
Well...Kristi has generously listed this pattern at a steal price of only $5.00!!! Can you believe that? AND Friday only, it is on sale for only $4.00!!! No coupon code needed for the sale price, but it is only for Friday.
Click HERE to go to Kristi's ETSY page to purchase the pattern.
And don't forget to join the Facebook Group for George and Ginger.