I hacked my favorite t-shirt pattern!

I fell in love with the Lane Raglan pattern a few months back, and after making a few different versions, I started toying with the idea of adding a cowl neck. Sort of a Renfrew-Lane mashup if you will. I came across some wonderfully soft rayon stretch french terry in charcoal grey – perfect for a winter version of the Lane Raglan!

This top is so amazingly soft and cozy, I want to wear it all the time!

I cut a size up so that it would be roomy and drapey. Adding a cowl neck to it was super easy – the cowl is made from a single rectangle of fabric. I measured around the finished neckline of the shirt to determine the width (my fabric was super stretchy, so I didn’t even add seam allowances to the width), then estimated that I wanted the cowl about 10 inches tall (based off my Renfrew cowl) and doubled that so that it’s just folded over at the top. If you’re keeping track here, that gives a final measurement of 34 x 20″. Then I just serged the cowl neck onto the neckline, like you would for the neckband (or hem band or sleeve cuffs). The whole top took me just a few hours – such a satisfying make.

Have I mentioned how much I love this top? (heart eyes)

And then, I hacked it some more…

I loved the first version so much that I wanted to make another, but thought it would also look amazing with a snug-fitting hem band…

This version is made from a rayon-spandex jersey that’s a bit heavier weight than your usual jersey. It is just as soft as my grey french terry, and oh-so-drapey! I made the same cowl neck as before, but modified the pattern to get that snug hem that sits on my hips and shows off the drape of the top. I roughly doubled the height of the hem band (finished band went from ~2″ to ~4″), then shortened the body (front & back pieces) by 3″. To get a snug fit for the hem band, I estimated that 80% of the original length sounded about right and double checked that with a ‘dry fit’ of the band before serging it onto the shirt.

I love this one too! It feels a bit more dressy than the grey version. Black and grey may not be the most exciting colors, but they are so versatile and I’ve been wearing them a ton. In fact, I love them so much that I bought some more rayon-spandex jersey…this time in a teal blue.

What do you think – another snug fit hem band? Or leave off the hem band altogether? Now that it’s spring, I should probably be thinking about some short sleeve versions…Which version is your favorite?

Details

Pattern: Lane Raglan by Hey June Handmade
Size: 1X
Adjustments: added self-drafted cowl neck (34 x 20″), shortened sleeves 2″, shortened bodice 3″ and added snug hem-band (17.5 x 8.75″) for black version
Fabric: grey rayon-spandex french terry from Discount Fabrics in SF and black rayon-spandex jersey from Stonemountain & Daughter in Berkeley