A Review of The Laundry Day Tee 'Dress' Pdf Pattern by Love Notions with self-drafted Flutter Sleeves.
I've made a lot of Laundry Day Tees (commonly referred to as the LDT). It's an easy pattern with a great fit because a Full Bust Adjustment is included in the pattern. I find the shaping very flattering as it swings out from under the bust without clinging to the hips or stomach.
The LDT comes in sizes XS - 5X and has the following options:
3 hem lengths: shirt, tunic and dress
High/low hem for the tunic and dress length
3 necklines: scoop, v-neck and cowl
5 sleeve lengths: tank, short, elbow, 3/4 and long.
The LDT Pdf Pattern comes in US letter, A4, A0 and a projector file - all in a trimless format with layers.
Why do laundry when you can just whip up one of these cute and flattering tees in less time than it takes to dry a load of clothes? The Laundry Day Tee comes with three neckline options as well as five sleeve lengths. You also get to choose from a regular tee shirt length, tunic or knee length dress. Both the tunic and dress have high/low options. Perfect to wear with jeans and leggings alike!
Source: Love Notions Patterns
My previous LDTs have been based off the Tunic Pattern - I've made long sleeved, 3/4 sleeved, sleeveless, scoop neck, cowl neck, standard hem and high/low hem. As I said - I've used this pattern a lot!! The pdf pattern does, however, also include a dress option. This isn't simply a longer version of the Tunic though - it is drafted with less 'swing'. I thought I would give this option a try using some fabric purchased from Pound-A-Metre. It's described as 'Soft Viscose Jersey' although its more like an ITY to me.
ITY stands for Interlock Twist Yarn and is a soft, slinky knit fabric often used to create tops, skirts, dresses and dancewear. This fabric is tightly woven and does not wrinkle easily.
Source: Fabric.com
To make my LDT Dress a little different I drafted some flutter sleeves. This is a very easy change to make and there are lots of tutorials on the internet showing you how to do it. I followed a tutorial by Threads Magazine:
trace your sleeve pattern piece - I use kitchen grease paper
draw a vertical centre line on your sleeve pattern piece, a parallel line halfway between the centre and the outer edge and then a line in between these two
cut along each line up to but not through the sleeve cap edge
spread the slices apart evenly (I spread mine about 1"/1.5")
trace out your new pattern piece curving the bottom edge.
The LDT is really quick to make but I found hemming this very lightweight fabric tricky. It's the type of fabric that rolls up so I sewed my hems with a twin stretch needle to keep everything in place.
I really happy with my finished Laundry Day Tee Dress - I like the length and the fit over the bodice is very comfortable without being totally shapeless. It's such an easy dress to wear but I can also change it up a bit by wearing a belt. The flutter sleeves are a nice feature but I wish I'd made them even wider as this fabric is so drapey that I think they would have hung really nicely.
