Today is the deadline for the Sporty Summer Sewathon over at Did You Make That. Remember the Thurlow shorts I was working on? I hope not, because I never made them. Maybe after the summer? I just haven’t got the mental energy to face the learning curve. So many pieces, so many ways to get it wrong…

However, I still wanted to join the sewathon. I just needed to find a pattern that was both sporty and non-panic-inducing.

Esther bought two lengths of jersey print at the Haagse Markt the last time we were there. One is covered in photos of cats and the other in wild animals. They’re a super soft cotton with some lycra and a dreamy drape. She has her own plans for most of it but asked if I could also make a shirt from each of the prints.

It’s Renfrew time!

Esther had a particular design in mind: animals front and back with solid coloured sleeves and trim. I had some purple and blue cotton knit in my stash to fit the bill.

 

 

The print fabric is a great quality and a pleasure to work with. The cheap knit? Not so much. The purple neckline drooped, so I folded it over to the inside and hand-stitched it down. The blue sleeves got all stretched out and wonky when I tried to top stitch them. I had to cut off the cuff and start again. The knit doesn’t have great recovery either, so the sleeves and waistband on both shirts are a bit saggy.

However, droop and sag notwithstanding, my animal-loving girl is thrilled.

Which is great and all, but how are these sporty, you ask? Oh, I can spin this…

 

Jungle badminton

 

 

Cat-cycle

 

 

Snorkelling on the wild side

 

 

Kitty dreams: Pigeon hunting

 

That’s how.

See? Totally sporty.

 

Cost of these Things: €3 (Since this is Esther’s fabric I only am counting the cost of the amount I used for these shirts. The rest of the fabric will go back into her stash.)

Cost of all Things to date: €277.74