Selfish Sewing Week – Breton Stripe Lane Raglan

Jeans: Gap
Necklace: Madewell
Sneakers: Reebok

The timing for this round of Selfish Sewing Week, hosted by Imagine Gnats, Kollabora, and Indiesew,  is perfect – it’s fall sewing time!  This past weekend, I converted my closet over to my fall wardrobe (sniff sniff, summer is over) and saw some gaps that I need to fill.  One of the most glaring holes in my closet are knit tops that are a little more substantial than the tissue-knit type of long-sleeve tees good for layering – you know, something that can be worn on its own without needing to layer a tank top underneath.  Seems so simple, but I’m in need of more of those.  Hello my old friend, Lane Raglan pattern!

As bratty as it sounds (yup, total brat over here, I admit it), I never need an excuse to sew “selfishly” – just about everything I make is for me.  I have a firm and fast rule that I’ll only sew/knit gifts or garments for those that truly appreciate the time and effort it takes to make something by hand: my mom and my sister.  They’re both makers and “get” the thought and energy behind a handmade creation – and all three of us had experiences in the past with giving handmade gifts to others that don’t understand what handmade is, and we got burned.  No more.

Of course, I’m sure once kids enter the picture, this will all change (like many things in life)…I’m already thinking about the adorable things I want to make my niece once she’s big enough, too!

I wish I had a picture to show the texture of this knit, it’s pretty cool.  The knit itself is very stable, like a double-knit, but the navy stripes are ribbed on the right side and its smooth on the wrong side.  The drape is perfect for a mid-weight top, almost sweatshirt-like but much dressier.  It just goes to show that the fabric choice for a garment can really change the look and feel – here are two other Lane Raglans I made last year, one from a sweatshirt knit and the other from a bamboo jersey.  I also opted to not add a neckband and instead turned the neck edge under and stitched it.  The fabric is really stable, so I’m not worried about it stretching out (read: I totally botched the neckband when I sewed it on the first time and didn’t want to bother with fixing it….so there).

Also – check out that matching stripe action, what what!

The Lane Raglan is one of my few TNTs I own that I seem to turn to over and over.  Can’t go wrong with a raglan anything in my book!

Oh, you know what I was saying earlier about only sewing for me?  Well, that’s not going to be the case soon…I have a couple’s Halloween costume that I need to whip up next month for Chris and myself.  It’ll be two firsts – sewing a garment for someone else, and sewing for a dude!

Make sure to check out the other lovely ladies sharing their makes for Selfish Sewing Week: