Knotted Tees, Brought to You by the Knoxville Top

T-shirts are boring. And uncomfortable. I avoid them. And if I can’t avoid them, I usually do something to them to make them a little more bearable–anything from drastically chopping up the neckline and sleeves to something as simple as knotting the hem. So when I tripped over the Knoxville Top, I instantly befriended it and it has since shown me that tees need not be loathed when they are knotted tees.

Knots, Ya’ll

The Knoxville Top comes with options, glorious options! Sleeveless, short sleeve, elbow sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, and long sleeve, shirt length, tunic length, crew neck, scoop neck, cowl neck, bottom knot, and twisted knot.

So many options obviously means I need to make more than one.

Fabric Matters

For version 1, I chose short sleeve, shirt length, scoop neck, and twisted knot in a dreamy soft Polyester/Spandex “Cotton Style” jersey from So Sew English. I can’t gush enough about this fabric. The softness, the drape…it is everything a t-shirt should be.

For version 2, I went with sleeveless, shirt length, scoop neck, and twisted knot again, but this time I used a burnout bamboo poly spandex from So Sew English. I adore the design of this fabric, but the fabric content isn’t nearly as satisfying. It’s less fluid, but still comfortable.

About the Pattern

I strongly recommend watching the included video when you get to the knot. I’m convinced it’s impossible to make sense of the written instructions at that point.

The instructions are acceptable; not the best I’ve seen but also not the worst. It’s nice when pattern designers include photos, but I find it’s not worth it if they’re not done well. They need to be large enough and high quality enough to see detail, and the fabric should ideally not feature patterns and prints that compete with seeing those details.

Notes for Next Time

• I’m not a fan of the short sleeve length. Or maybe it’s the shape of it. I wish the sleeve hem sat more parallel to the ground.
• I graded from 4 to 6 to 8 from bust to waist to hips, but I didn’t love how loose the hips fit. So on version 2 I graded from 4 to 6. There’s something about the hemline I want to change but I’m not sure what it is. It still feels too loose/frumpy. I’ll have to figure that out.
• I also might scoop out the armscye a bit. It’s a tad higher than I like.
• Maybe I’ll attempt to mash the knot into some type of cami pattern.

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