Making The Hot Patterns Breton T

It’s time for some spring sewing! I wanted to focus on making the Hot Patterns Breton T (officially the Mr & Mrs Weekender Breton T) because it’s such a classic spring top. And when I made this, it was cold and there was still snow on the ground.

The Fabric

Breton Tees are known for their stripes. They are most often (at least traditionally) blue and white stripes or black and white stripes. So when I bought this fabric locally at G Street Fabrics, I knew it would be perfect for some kind of t-shirt. I used a blue and white striped knit that I had in my fabric stash.

This is a medium weight knit that washes and dries great. It’s not a see through fabric and it’s very comfortable in cool and warm weather.

The Pattern

This is considered a “Beginner” sewing pattern. It is easy to put together. I usually make mine with a long sleeve, although the pattern is more of a 3/4 (or longer) sleeve. I’ve also made many variations before. While mine may look like a boatneck shirt, the pattern is described as a cross between a boatneck and round neck.

woman wearing blue & white striped Breton T

Back view of woman wearing Hot Patterns Breton T

The only issue with constructing this top involves assembling the neckline. While it seems like it would be very simple, the instructions aren’t very clear and require a lot of thought. I was able to find a good write-up on the Pattern Review website that explains things really well. But, when done correctly, you end up with a clean finish on the inside of the neckband (all raw edges are enclosed).

The only alteration made to the pattern was to lengthen the sleeves. I think that I’ll make another slleve pattern piece that just for the longer length like I prefer, especially if it’s still a little cool outside.

Conclusion

Making the Hot Patterns Breton T is one of my favorite patterns. It’s great when I need to get my sew-jo back. There are so many ways this can be styled particularly when made in a solid. Sewing our own wardrobe pieces can really give us the unique style and fit that we all want for ourselves. And best of all, it doesn’t always have to be a time consuming process.

Here’s the YouTube video I made on making the top:

Separates Made With Minerva

I was gifted this fabric from Minerva.com recently. It’s a stretch cotton sateen. It washes and dries well and is super easy to sew. I enjoy using fabric like this for outfits like what you’ll see below, because it’s a medium weight that makes garments look fantastic! The patterns used for this outfit are out-of-print (OOP), but you can easily achieve a similar look with a button up shirt and a skirt. So, this post is about my separates made with Minerva.

Top: McCall's 2094
Skirt: Vogue 8295
Separates made with Minerva fabric

What I wanted was the look of a dress, but achieved with separates. Although I do plan to make a shirtdress (and I considered it for this fabric), I wanted more options. With a print this bold, I figure I will give myself the opportunity to break this up.

Top: McCall's 2094
Skirt: Vogue 8295
Belted separates Minerva fabrics

In the photo above I am wearing this belted. That’s a good way to break up the print and add some visual interest to the outfit.

M2092, V8295 top and skirt belted (wide), minerva fabrics separates

In the photo above, I’m wearing this with a wide belt. It’s just a different look rather than the other leather belt.

If you’ve never used this type of fabric, it has a bit of stretch but I think it stitches up beautifully. It’s great for things like this because it allows the garments to have some structure.

McCall's 2094 top made with Minerva fabrics

This shirt pattern is pretty much my go to for this style of top. It has 8 variations, including sleeveless.

Vogue 8295 skirt made with Minerva fabrics

I love the wide band on this skirt pattern. It has some length variations as well. There are also options that are more decorative. Here is a previous time I sewed up this pattern (you might need to scroll down to get to the picture of the skirt). Overall I’m very happy with how this turned out. I love the versatility of this outfit. I can wear it belted or unbelted, tucked in or out, and split the whole thing up! If you want to add some options to your outfits, especially if you want the most from your sewing time, you might want to consider sewing this way. I hope you enjoyed this post on separates with Minerva fabrics. I’ll leave another link below if you want to look at this fabric (or any others they have).

Minerva Jardin Cotton Sateen — https://www.minerva.com/mp/1247273/jardin-stretch-cotton-sateen-fabric-blue&variant=1247262

McCall’s 8178 Dress Pattern

I bought this pattern in one of my recent pattern hauls. It’s funny because I almost didn’t buy t because I thought the pattern would be “too young” for me (whatever that means). But, I really like the style and ease of wear that McCall’s 8178 dress pattern offers. I’m glad I did get it. As it turns out, this is one of my favorite dress patterns I’ve made in a while.

Honestly, this dress started out as a wearable muslin. But, the result turned out so well that now it’s just my dress. I used a quilting cotton for this. The dress does use a lot of fabric. There are 10 godets that have to be added. Those godets are what give the dress skirt its flare. Sewing the godets is easy but a bit time consuming.

The three versions in the pattern of the McCall’s 8178 dress are: sleeveless, 3/4 sleeve with contrasting godets or 3/4 sleeve with matching godets. Clearly, you can make whatever combination you choose. I think a short-sleeve version for summer would be great! I would make the sleeves more of a bell-type sleeve rather than just short. That would look good with the flare of the dress. As you can see, I made my dress from all one fabric.

The dress goes together pretty easily. The pattern is for woven fabrics. Since there’s no zippers, etc it goes over the head.

The only change I made to this pattern was to lengthen the bodice by 1″. With this change, the seam hits closer to my waist. There is elastic in that waist seam. The only thing I would do differently the next time would be to add in-seam pockets. Since this originally started out as a simple muslin, I didn’t think to add them. But, next time for sure!