An Ode to the City Park Tee

It's Hey June month and I am a big fan of Hey June Patterns. I have made many City Park Tees in different fabrics. When I first bought the pattern, I didn't realize that I would make the pattern so many times. Shirts at the store are not expensive, but they are fun to sew and pick out fabric for. I probably would not have found a blue floral double brushed polyster shirt in the store.

The first one that I made is a really stretchy fabric. Since the fabric is so stretchy, it was a bit of a pain to sew, but the pattern does not have that many pattern pieces to sew up, so it worked out fine.

 I made one out of cotton spandex which is a much easier knit to sew.

I made the third one in a cotton spandex. I added a peplum to the pattern. I gathered the fabric to make the peplum. If I were to make a peplum shirt again I would make the peplum a circle because the fabric stretched out and I have to wear a belt to make the waist smaller.

I made a fourth one in a sporty type of knit and made the v-neck version. It was my first time sewing a v-neck and the fabric is more of a stable knit, so it went pretty smoothly. I watched the video on the Hey June Pattern website on how to sew a v-neck.

I made a fifth one out of a rib knit. I made the tunic length and I had never worked with a rib knit before. I should have sized down on this.

I made the sixth one out of cotton spandex again.

I made a seventh one out of a stretch velvet. I really wanted to try out sewing with velvet and a t-shirt seemed a great way to try it out. I read online about how to handle velvet. You have to use the iron sparingly. Cut out everything in the same direction or because of the nap of the velvet the pattern pieces will be different shades and not look like it came from the same fabric.

I made a eighth one out of double brushed polyester. It was my first sewing with double brushed polyester which seems like a theme of sewing the City Park Tee choosing fabrics that I have not sewn with before. Double brushed polyester is so soft and feels so great to wear. I used Heat n Bond Soft Stretch Lite on the hem and my cover stitch machine sewed the hem up smoothly.

The City Park tee is part of Hey June's junior line, but there is also a woman's verison called the Union Stree Tee. The pattern has not disappointed. My floral t-shirts get the most worn. I really need to try a triblend or dana modal knit because Adrianna, the pattern designer of Hey June patterns says highly recommend these fabrics for sewing t-shirts.