Back To Basics Sewing: The Black Turtleneck

This Back To Basics Sewing: The Black Turtleneck is the latest in my “occasional” series of sewing those items that can be so necessary to mix and match with other garments in your wardrobe.

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For this one, I used one of my favorite patterns: the Wardrobe By Me Trudy turtleneck. I really like how this one fits. There are options for a traditional turtleneck collar, a low collar (think mock turtleneck), with sleeves and sleeveless. By the way, if you’ve never had a sleeveless turtleneck, they are a great layering piece to have, especially under long sleeve jumpers or dresses, sweaters, etc.

The Why Behind This Choice

This is an item that I have wanted to have for years. I never got around to buying one. Living here in the eastern part of the United States, the winters are often cold, so turtlenecks are very comfortable for me. I know some people don’t like things on their necks because they feel constricted (my mother was like that). So I get it. Personally, I love them! And I want more in different colors.

woman wearing black turtleneck, jeans and boots

The Turtleneck

I made the traditional shirt with the high collar that we always think of with a turtleneck. The fabric is a black cotton interlock (bought at JoAnn Fabrics). Interlock is great for something like this because it’s so comfortable. It’s breathable and easy to sew.

woman wearing black turtleneck and jeans back view

With only four pieces (back, front, sleeves, collar), this is also a good beginner project for someone new to sewing with knit fabrics. It really is hard to mess this up. Once you get your sizing right, it’s quick to put together.

I did use a twin needle for the hemming. Duckbill scissors are also great to trim away some excess fabric once the hems are done. Here’s a link to the video I made about using a twin needle.

If you have a serger, this can be even faster to make. But I wanted to show you some of the items I was able to put together with this one basic item.

woman wearing black turtleneck and black skirt

Above is the black turtleneck I paired with a black knit skirt. The skirt is made from the Angela Wolf patterns Kate skirt in knit.

woman wearing turtleneck with black and white jeans

Next I’m showing the top with a pair of black and white jeans I made a while back.

woman wearing black turtleneck with jeans

Last, this is probably my favorite way to wear this. A black turtleneck with jeans can be a quick, easy and stylish option. I hope you can see why I call this back to basics sewing: the black turtleneck!

Here is my YouTube video on making this terrific top.

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New Projects For The New Year!

First, let me start by saying Happy New Year to all of you! I took some time to enjoy the holidays and relax a bit, and now I’m ready to get back to sewing, blogging, and vlogging. I have some new projects for the new year that I want to share. And I have thought about my goals for what I want to achieve this year.

Review

In 2021 I made 45 garments! That is a LOT for me. I have never had a year where I made more than about 20. The majority of these things were tops (19). The next largest group was pants (8). My goal is not to hit a specific number, but to sew more and improve my skills. That is always a goal of mine.

Goals

As far as new projects for the new year, one of the things I want to focus on is making the “guts” of the garments (the inside) look almost as good as the outside. It won’t happen every time, but I do want to be more aware.

Because I always want to challenge myself, I believe the best way to achieve that is to just keep sewing.

There may be some more artistic challenges as well. For example, fabric dyeing is on my list, but I don’t have the supplies to do that yet.

And because I’m sewing more, I will do more wardrobe building/planning. It’s important to wear what I make.

Quick Projects

I always like to start the year off with some quick projects. I have completed two “Minerva makes” projects. The first are these cargo pants using New Look 6055 made from a polyester twill fabric. You can read that post here.

Next is the soft and comfy striped knit turtleneck that I made using Wardrobe By Me Trudy Turtleneck pattern. That post is on the Minerva site as well. The black pants are from a Simplicity pattern I made a while ago.

Very Quick Project

This past weekend, I made these satin pillowcases. I have made these in a variety of colors and have even given them as gifts on occasion. Using a walking foot makes these come together very easily.

That’s it for now. Happy New Year and I’ll be back soon with more projects!

Year End Wrap Up

As we all know, this year has been a crazy one on so many levels. I didn’t do some of the things I had planned when I started the year. I completely got off track, then slowly got back to my sewing goals. So I did, at least, want to write a year end wrap up of the projects I completed and what some of my favorites are.

One of the things I actually wanted to do was to keep track of the number of yards I sewed this year. That didn’t happen. I did it for the first month, then I got distracted (global pandemics will do that).

Woman wearing sweatshirt and sweat pants

Comfort is essential and this picture features two of my favorite makes this year. The top is a Style Arc Preston Knit Sweater and the pants are Jalie sweatpants. Both the sweatpants and the top fit me perfectly without any alterations. Because I paired the right fabric with each pattern, they are especially comfortable.

The Trench

Another favorite and a great pattern is this Angela Wolf Chloe trench coat.

This can be lined or unlined (mine is unlined). It can be made from traditional trench coat fabric. I made this one from home decor cotton. It’s washable and I really like the mosaic print. Here is the original post.

Tees

I love sewing basics, whether it’s a T-shirt or some other kind of top. I really enjoy this Trudy turtleneck pattern. It’s another PDF by Wardrobe By Me.

I took the Wardrobe Builder Tee (Wardrobe By Me pattern) and made my inspiration piece.

Wearing Wardrobe Builder Tee with Bishop sleeves

This just required a sleeve alteration to get the modified bishop-sleeve look.

These are just some of my most favorite things I made this year. While I made some pants and skirts, I will focus more on wardrobe building in 2021. The new year brings more opportunities to really create the wardrobe I want.

What are you sewing and what are your favorite things to make?

That’s it for this year end wrap up! Thanks for reading and I’ll see you all in the new year.