Firstly, thanks so much to all those who left such lovely messages about Clare’s graduation.  School is now finished for the year, and for Clare primary school is finished forever!  Of course we still have many years of connection to the school ahead of us – Stella is going into Grade 2 next year, and I am still school council president!  Primary school is far from finished for us as a family.  There were many tears at assembly this afternoon (a bit of group hysteria from many of them – and I am not very sympathetic to that sort of reaction) but most are looking forward to what is coming next.  Everyone is well and truly in need of a rest!

The first thing I made at Sewjourn last weekend was a Pattern Fantastique Aeolian Tee. I always like to start off my Sewjourn visits with a relatively easy sew – a bit of a palate cleanser, if you like, to really get me into the sewing groove!

I was so pleased with the drafting of the Celestial dress that I was very keen to give the Aeolian Tee a go. The pattern description from the website is as follows:

DESIGN
The Aeolian is the perfect boxy cotton tee, as tall as it is wide. It has a box-shaped sleeve, strategically inserted to the armhole for maximum 3D body.
Sized down, it makes a perfect sheath. Neat, but not tight. Excellent in a glamour knit for a super clean, mini, cocktail dress. Sized up it responds with mega drapes and kaftan-esque volume.
SKILL LEVEL
Easy to Intermediate. Comes with illustrated, step by step instructions.
SIZES
6-18 multi-sized pattern
View size charts
FABRIC
Knits
FORMAT
32 page pattern
11 page instruction booklet
All downloads are A4 PDF documents

The fabric I used was a remnant from Darn Cheap Fabrics. It is a coated knit, and I think that it is still available. I only had enough to make a tee. The pattern comes in a variety of lengths however, from tee to mini to dress and maxi. It was surprisingly easy to sew. I constructed the tee on the overlocker, and topstitched with a twin needle on the sewing machine. I think that my twin needle threads are slightly different colours – I just used what I had available. I particularly like the deep hems included in this pattern. They add nice weight to the edges and help to ensure that the fabric hangs nicely.

I made size Medium, for an easy fit. This pattern is simple in that there are only four pieces – front, back, sleeve and neckband – but because of this the drafting becomes super important. In my opinion the simplest patterns are the ones that actually require the best drafting; otherwise they are very ordinary. This tee is beautifully drafted. It popped up on Instagram recently made to the dress length in woven linen with a bias bound neckline. I am ABSOLUTELY going to make one!

I have styled this with my Style Arc Lola pants and a necklace and earring set bought at a local craft market. My sandals were purchased during our trip to Thailand. I’d really like a pair of these pants in linen or viscose or silk in the same shade as the yellow in the necklace. Something to keep in mind the next time I’m in a fabric shop! I highly recommend this pattern – simple styling, easy to sew, but beautifully drafted and a current shape.