Patriotic Stellan
Pattern: Stellan Tee by French Navy
Fabric: Cotton jersey from Fluky Fabrics
Sewn Up: Spring 2019
“What are you going to wear for Fourth of July?” was always the question my twin sister and I asked each other as kids leading up to the holiday, and still is. This year I was excited that I could sew my own patriotic flair – this Stellan Tee in some fun jersey stripes I found on Etsy.
This shirt is super soft and is amazing to change into after work, which I started doing almost daily right after making it, weeks before the fourth. I often video-message my dear friend who lives out of town (highly recommend the Marco Polo app for anyone who wants to keep in better touch with far-away friends!), and the majority of my videos for a stretch of this summer featured me in this shirt. I’m pretty proud of my stripe matching from body to sleeve – less proud of my curved hem, which rolls itself right up the wrong way. But that’s why we have the French tuck!
This year my local sewing shop had a Fourth of July party – free workspace, iced tea and cookies all day long. I was beyond delighted that this event existed – a dreamy place for the introverted and sun-shy to land on this particularly loud, hot holiday.
The morning of, I put this on as my Fourth of July best, and on my drive over from downtown DC, I loved seeing everyone else in theirs. A woman in a maroon tee shirt with navy shorts; a man in a tank top with a gradient fading from white to pink to red to blue. Later, stuck on Key Bridge when my drive home serendipitously coincided with the DC fireworks, I enjoyed watching the crowds of people watching the sky – some in full American flag, others in florals, color blocks, all stars, all stripes. It was so sweet, imagining everyone getting dressed that morning in their own interpretation of red, white and blue. I’m not sure other cities would have quite the same holiday edition of school spirit, and it made me very happy to be a witness. (And a participant!)
~ Photos by Lizzie Epstein - thanks sis! ~
Drawing process reel! Closet floor photo, metro sketch, digital drawing.
