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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Scout Tee vs. Simplicity 1690

I like plain old woven tops.I wear them quite a bit, but since they are worn so much I don't have enough to always have clean ones on the ready and wind up wearing a lot of knit T-shirts. Woven tops just look so much nicer, so I am on a quest to find a TNT one.

The contenders:


First off I bought this voile awhile back, but never knew what I wanted to do with it. It's not a color I usually lean toward. When I decided to do this comparison I thought it would make a great wearable muslin fabric. It also makes me look at the shape of the shirt rather than liking one fabric more than the other. The downside was the pictures are hell to sort! Oh yeah, check out our plum tree we planted  year ago that has never grown or produced even a single leaf. We thought it was dead, and now it is covered is delicious smelling flowers!



Let's start with Simplicity 1690 by Leanne Marshall You might recognize the structural shape of the skirt and dress on this pattern, but I bought it for the simple kimono sleeved shirt. I made french seams on this one since there were only four. I only spent about an hour working on it and it was done. No fuss, no muss! I can't say how well the directions are written because I just didn't read them. I may have missed something because on the envelope it looks like there are supposed to be slits on each side along the hemline. I will definitely add those next time. I made no adjustments or alterations for size.


The neckline is bias bound and hems are just folded and sewed.


Back view is pretty standard stuff.I was told I need to make shorts that fit next since I am holding these up by the pockets. Apparently I have a droopy butt. Everyone is a critic!


Now onto Grainline Studio's Scout Woven Tee. This is exactly as described, a woven tee shirt and exactly what I was looking for. The pattern is a downloadable pdf. I did follow the directions (for the most part) and liked them.I worked on this one a few minutes a day here and there over a week. The main difference here is the scoop neckline and set in sleeves.


The neck is again, bias bound, but the directions added a very new to me step of under stitching the binding to the seam allowance. I plan on doing this from now on because I love the way it looks. Hems are fold and sew.



Back view again pretty standard stuff. Not holding my shorts up at all.

The winner is.....


Simplicity 1690!!!! I am as shocked as you are. I thought it was the Scout Tee, right up until I saw the photos. Then the Leanne Marshall showed to be so much more flattering. I have to admit it is an easier sew, but only because of the kimono sleeves. They are both great patterns, but I think Simplicity is closer to being my tried and true. I may try another couple patterns on my search though. 

BTW I got a $100 gift card to Mood for my birthday....any suggestions?

4 comments:

  1. Stacie.. Both shirts look great on you [and the color is fantastic on you].. I really like the scout tee, such a good pattern.. However, the Simp pattern is pretty too.. You really have an eye for patterns..[I would have never noticed the shirt pattern.. amazing how cute it turned out]..
    happy sewing.

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  2. Right off the hop, I liked the Simplicity top better. The scout does look like a good top too though, and I think having both basics available will be handy. Good call, using the same fabric - it was like comparing apples to apples without different colours and textures and possibly even drape to distract from the pattern.

    And I agree with Judy, the colour looks good on you!

    Also, if you have to hold up your shorts, I really do think you need a new pair. Or a good belt. :D

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  3. I thought the Simplicity looked better too. I know that a lot of bloggers swear by the smaller independent pattern makers and like to run down the big 4, but the Simplicity one simply looks better on you.

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  4. Thank you so much for the comparative review! I was debating between those exact patterns and am totally won over by the simplicity version.

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