You have failed me for the last first time, Admiral bias tape.

I have made a shirt! I am wearing it out in public! I was going to show you what it looks like, but I’m exceptionally unphotogenic today so none for you. Still, this is the first time I’ve made something that goes over my head (and has a torso) and I am super pleased with it!

Last Sunday a group of girls went to Bonnie and Catherine’s place for a craft day. While Heather and I were the only ones who really did any crafting, Bonnie and Alice both helped me figure out how to copy a pattern (tracing is hard) and alter it enough to fit my preferences. Bonnie had made herself this dress that I really liked because of the wicked neckline, but I am not one to wear anything tube-related. Still I thought it might make a really cute shirt so I copied the pattern, cut it off at hip level, and even got so far as to cut all my fabric. All I needed to do was sew it all together, and last night I did just that.

I have a really hard time deciphering sewing recipes, but I made a pretty good go at it. I pinned all the pieces, double-stitched the seams, and even HEMMED the neckline and arm holes. Attaching the cowl was a little tricky because it’s easily three times the weight of the rest of the shirt, but I managed to get it on (and tripled-sewed it to a) cover my mistakes and b) make sure it stays put). I did goof, though: the fabric I used is dark blue with black stripes. The shirt has horizontal stripes, but the cowl’s stripes are vertical – I miscalculated when folding. The thing is, it kind of looks like it was on purpose, so if anyone asks .. yeah, I was going for this look.

The reason I liked the pattern so much is because of that cowl – it’s big enough that you can pull it over your head as a hood. I am super into hiding behind hoods right now, in a style I have dubbed “Assassin’s Creed” – when I am hidden by a hood, it is because I am an assassin with an agenda so watch out. The name of the shirt is also a verb, as in “I am totally Assassin’s Creeding it up in here today because I do not want to talk to anyone”. This is a thing now. Just go with it.

So, the bias tape. I didn’t want to push my luck by hemming the bottom of the shirt, so I decided to go with my favourite complicated alternative (because it takes two rounds of sewing plus a Google to remember how to align the tape properly) and just use black bias tape. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I was done and trimming thread ends that I realized my mistake: the shirt is made out of jersey, which is stretchy. Bias tape is not stretchy. The shirt still fits fine, but it stretches nicely everywhere except along the bottom. This is the first time bias tape has backfired on me, so I won’t forget it anytime soon – I’m onto you, bias tape. I will likely be fooled again, but I am onto you.

YAY I MADE A SHIRT!