Essex Linen Hayden Tee

It's probably obvious by now, but I am a big fan of Seamwork patterns. Still, rarely do I make both of the patterns from a single issue. In 2015, I made both patterns from the June Knits issue. In 2016, I made both patterns from the April Intentions issue. I've already written about the Seneca skirt, so today I will tell you about the Hayden tee.

Last April Carolyn Friedlander announced her Euclid line, which is printed on Essex Linen, and posted about a Hayden tee she made from one of the fabrics. I immediately wanted to make a Hayden tee out of Euclid fabric. Sadly, the fabric would not be available for purchase for months and months. Since I had never sewn a garment out of Essex Linen before, I decided to make a wearable muslin while I waited for Euclid's release. Cropped isn't my style, so I chose to make the longer version. This shirt ended up being my favorite shirt of the summer.

I ordered a few yards of Essex Linen in Water, and I'll admit I was a little disappointed when it arrived. It felt rougher to the touch than I expected and I didn't see how it was an improvement over quilting cotton. Nevertheless, I continued on. It softened a bit with prewashing and its stiffness made it a joy to sew with. I used French seams everywhere I could and took my time. I took particular care when grading between two sizes and it really paid off. The end result fits me perfectly and I wore it frequently throughout the summer. Since I wore it so much, I can tell you that the Essex Linen does soften considerably with repeated washing.

The neckline gave me some trouble. Since the Essex Linen was so thick, I tried a couple different alternatives for the finishing bias strips. I had to rip out the quilting cotton I used the first time, and ended up using some leftover Triangle Tokens voile. Even so, I used a denim needle to sew the neckline, due to the thickness of the Essex Linen.

The only major change I made was to use elastic for the button loop instead of fabric, which was a detail I had seen on several of my daughter's dresses over the years. It works really well and I would do it again.

  

Interestingly enough, both the Seneca skirt and Hayden tee are supposed to be two hour projects. Personally, Hayden took me much longer to sew than Seneca, but was well worth the extra time. I could totally see myself making more of these next spring or summer.