P-p-p-pick up a Pendrell (or, the IKEA dream #3)

 Last summer was the season of the Sorbetto. This year I've invested a bit more by actually paying for a pattern - the lovely Pendrell from Sewaholic.

Pendrell front

It shares many of the Sorbetto's virtues: it's quick and simple to sew, and (for the simplest sleeveless version here) it can just be squeezed out of a metre of fabric***. The single metre didn't allow for any fussy-cutting, though, so the contrasting panels were purely down to happy accident.

Pendrell back

I knew the sewing gods were smiling on my Pendrell when the bobbin thread ran out -

at the very end of the final seam.

And when the shoulder seams came together like a pleasing patchwork.

The fabric, of course, came from IKEA.

 (Did you spot its fleeting moment of glory the Olympic opening ceremony?)

But, back to the pattern...

I loved it - quick and easy, and just fitted enough to feel that it's more-than-just-a-T-shirt. The best bit, for me, was the method for attaching the bias tape. It's sewn with both raw edges of the bias tape aligned with the edge of the fabric - just like the neckband of a T-shirt, in fact - but then folded back to form a facing. It makes for an elegant and easy finish that's juts a touch simpler than standard bias tape, and I'm all for simplicity in sewing.

In fact it's so good I had to make a second one straight away - this is the more sedate (and stash-busting) version in a Valori Wells linen. The only change is a slightly lower neckline. 

I'd have added the ruffley sleeves if only I'd had more fabric - maybe for the next-but-one - the next is already cut out in a Liberty-esque cotton lawn.


***I should add a warning about trying to eke it out of a metre: it's not what the pattern envelope recommends, and it led to some ugly cutting within the seam allowances (pictured below - peek, then look away quickly!).

seam allowance shame...