I struggle to cut into beautiful and special fabric. I've been storing a few floral fabrics, like this English Garden floral rayon from Rifle Paper Company, for years. Thankfully, I'd already made a toile of the Chai tee and knew what adjustments I needed to make for the perfect final garment.

From my first make I learned that I needed to grade from a size small on the top half of the garment to a medium in the hips. I also learned that it was important to make sure the shoulder pleats point outward so they lay correctly over the bust.


This was a fast make and required very little fabric but, with only a yard of this gorgeous print, I was still short just a bit. Luckily I was able to find a coordinating fabric in my stash that could be used for the interior yoke pieces.

I love how this make turned out! The Chai tee is easy to style with slacks and a blazer for work or dark skinny jeans for a casual weekend look. And without any closures this soft rayon blouse is easy to wear too. I see many more Chai tees in my future!


Time estimate: 3 hours (including fabric cutting)
Size: small/medium
Material used: rayon, 1 yard, plus some extra!
Care instructions: machine wash, tumble dry low

Cost to make top:
pattern - pre-owned ($15 value)
fabric - gifted from Sweet Red Poppy, thank you! ($15 value)
thread - from my stash
Total: FREE ($30 value)

I have adored this cutely named "chai tee" pattern since I first saw it at a Cincinnati fabric store this spring. It will be a great addition to my work wardrobe, with my morning black tea!

The pattern is created for both wovens and knits, which makes it the perfect addition to my collection. I made my first chai tee with woven material allows for slightly more formal, business casual feel. As the pattern suggested, I sized up one size to compensate for the reduced stretch of a woven material.


I deviated from the pattern instructions in a few places, enclosing both of the yoke pieces inside using the rolling technique detailed in the instructions. Honestly, I did this on accident because I wasn't paying close enough attention... but in the end it was a happy mistake that I think made the final product feel more finished. Because both shoulder seams were already finished I pinned the neck binding in place, sewed it together into a closed circle, and continued to follow the instructions for attaching the binding.


After trying to stitch in the neck binding unsuccessfully a few time I decided to hand based it on, with much more success. One additional note I had about the neck binding was that I had to cut a second neck binding out because the pattern piece did not indicate that it should be on the bias for woven materials, although the pattern instructions did. Although this was a minor annoyance it was worth the effort to not fight an ill fitting binding.

One last note on the pattern instructions was that I had to add a basting line or two to the sleeve to get them set inside well. I was happy with this quick sew and was able to make it work for me with a few tweaks.


This is wonderful and wearable muslin, and I am glad I tried the pattern once before cutting into my final fashion fabric. As you can see, a straight size small is roomy enough in the bust, but much too tight around my hips. When I make this pattern again I will need to grade the hips out to at least a size medium. I can't wait to have more, tailored chai tees!



Time estimate: 5 hours
Size: small
Material used: polyester blend
Care instructions: machine wash cold, line dry, warm iron when needed

Cost to make dress:
pattern - $15
material - gifted
*thread from my stash
TOTAL: $15 plus tax