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Finding a TNT - Grainline Linden

Hi everyone!

** Sorry for the awful pictures - in a rush, with an eight year old boy as photographer! **

As you may remember, I conducted some analysis of the Sewcialists TNT month results and I also wrote about how I haven't yet found much of anything that I could consider a TNT.

As a result, I decided to focus on finding some TNTs for me, using the Sewcialists results as a guide.  You might recall that the Grainline Linden took 67.3% of the pie in terms of sweatshirts / jumpers.  That was definitely on my list after that strong showing!  I also included it on my Me-Made-May plan - so it's very exciting that I have actually made it within May!!!


It's made out of a stretch fabric from Pitt Trading (called gold patina knit - sold out) which is lovely blend of black and gold.  It's like a sparkly top, without being ridiculously sparkly.

Overall the pattern was reasonably easy to adjust (once I found a good reference for an FBA on a raglan sleeve).  I used a mixture of the Claire Coat tutorial from Closet Case Patterns and the Paprika Patterns dartless FBA tutorial to add a couple of inches to the chest and then rotate out the resulting dart.

While these adjustments are now common for me, they do result in a very messy looking pattern piece!


I also adjusted for length - a standard for me being to add around 2" to the bodice and 1.5" to the sleeves.

While the sleeves are a touch long with the adjustment they are pretty good, but the additional body length was too much.  The first attempt was definitely too long (it was just about tunic length) and much less flattering. These pictures are taken after I removed about 2.5 - 3 inches back off the length.


Obviously I would have added some length via the FBA, but I was still surprised by how long this came out originally.  I am six foot tall, so anyone with a short torso might want to bear that in mind.

I also shaved about 3/4" off both side seams from below the bust down.  This was enough to make the fit flattering and slim, while still relaxed.  While 3/4" doesn't seem like much when you merrily serge it off the side, it actually adds up to around 3" around the full garment, so I should probably redraft the pattern piece a bit to accommodate.  


Overall I really like how this turned out.  It's dressy enough with the gold fabric to wear out for drinks, but super comfortable and relaxed.

It's also very very quick to sew.  I started this around 2pm yesterday, and wore it out last night (we left about 5.30pm).  Given that includes all the adjustments on the pattern and the back on forth on the length, that's pretty speedy!


I would like to try and make a v-neck version of this, so that might be next on the list.  That would also make this a TNT!!!

Ciao for now :)

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