Blank Canvas Tee Turned Jason Wu

As in, 3hourspast's Blank Canvas Tee turned into a vaguely Jason Wu knock-off, not into Jason Wu himself. Gosh, if Jason Wu suddenly materialized in my sewing room, I'd be a blushing, embarrassed mess, given its current state of disarray. Right. Anyway.

Side view.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a seamstress faced with the task of finishing up the seams in a completed dress will instead opt for an easy and satisfying quickie project. I still need to bind the raw edges on either side of the zipper in my Alice dress, as well as sew on a hook and eye, but, having already taken photos of it, it feels much less pressing. I even repaired my husband's jeans instead, but even that wasn't enough procrastination for me. So what did I do? Print out and tape up Steph's free pattern, then cut into my lovely rayon knit from the F&S remnants bin. Two hours later, I had a nice simple top that feels like a dream to wear. I feel like I'm swimming in butter. Or dreaming about swimming in butter. Whatever. Suffice it to say, this tee is super comfy, while still looking put together.

Steph has generously made the BCT available in multiple sizes for people to download and try. I used the smallest one available, meant for a bust of 35", but it's still a little bit big on me width-wise. The neckline is much wider than the illustration, and the back is definitely bigger than my normal tees. Which is totally fine, since I like this loose-fitting look; if I decide I want a tighter fit, it should be easy to grade down. That said, I did have to add three inches to the length, as well as leaving it unhemmed, to get the length I like, but then I know I have a long torso. I can still add a band at the bottom if I want, later, but for now I like it as it is. The pattern calls for a medium-weight knit, which this tissue-thin rayon most decidedly is not, but I think it still works. Combined with the larger size, it's nice and drape-y and will be great for tucking into that black circle skirt I'm planning to make at some point in my life.

The back view. Loose, but I like it.

This is what it looks like when I'm just standing with my arms down.

To make the black collar tie, I cut a long strip out of a black stretchy mesh that I almost threw away (a lady at church gave me a giant bag of fabric, which I was initially psyched about, until I discovered that the entire thing was sequined spandex in old lady floral patterns, and hideous synthetic knits. I did save the more normal pieces, like this plain black scrap). I made a 44" tube 1.5" wide, turned it, and sewed it to the neckline. I left a little half-inch gap in the middle so that I could tie a knot. I'm still contemplating cutting another strip to make make a bow, since mine isn't long enough to tie a nice one.

You can see how ridiculously thin and drape-y the fabric is here.
Also, that mesh was impossible to press into any semblance of a crisp edge.

Summary:
Fabric: 2/3 yd green rayon jersey knit, a 3" of 44" black poly mesh knit
Notions: None! I love that knit sewing means no closures!
Techniques used: None, aside from remembering to switch to a ballpoint needle. Since the neckhole is so large, I didn't even have to use a stretch stitch. This tee is so simple and easy!
Hours: Two. It would have been half an hour if I hadn't put on the tie. Seriously, I cannot say enough how easy this is. And even with the tie, it would've been only 1.5 hours except that I managed to sew it on inside out the first time...
Netflix queue: Another couple of episodes of Upstairs, Downstairs. Can you tell I've been going through Downton Abbey withdrawal?
Will you make this again? Undoubtedly. As its name proclaims, it's a perfect blank canvas.
Total cost: $3! I love free and remnant fabrics! Much better than the $23 for the Jason Wu version, which was only available for like, five minutes after it launched. I went to my local Target and they had only one sad, ripped XL left in the less desirable color scheme.
Final thoughts: I love that I can wear this with jeans, or with my imaginary circle skirt. It's perfect for dressing up or down. Stairs. Hah, sorry, I couldn't resist.

And in case you're wondering what's going on in the background of these photos...it's Walnut, eating his afternoon snack.