Sointu Kimono Tee | #2018MakeNine

One of my goals with my #2018MakeNine this year is to try to sew one of my #2018MakeNine garments per month. I have been seeing lots of the Sointu Kimono Tee on instagram recently and I was most excited to sew that up!

The Pattern

The Sointu Kimono tee is a loose fitting knit tee with kimono sleeves. It features a rounded v-neck neckline and belt loops with waist tie.

I was most surprised to find out that the pattern is drafted for a knit – based on the pattern cover photo, I thought for sure it was a rayon or other woven fabric.

I’ve only sewn one other Named pattern and it was a total fail last year (The Saunio cardigan that was part of #SewMyStyle) so to say I was a little nervous about sewing one of their patterns was an understatement. Some of the Named patterns come with layered pattern pieces (the Saunio was one of those) which makes tracing 100% necessary and hard to follow. Also some of their patterns don’t have seam allowances included, which also is not my favorite. Fortunately, the Sointu had seam allowances and a non-layered PDF.

I was actually surprised how inexpensive the PDF was. It was 7 euros which is about $8.50. For a PDF pattern that’s pretty reasonable. I expected it to be more in line with Closet Case Patterns and other patterns that sell paper + pdf which are usually around $14-18 dollars a pattern. It also only has one view, so it was nice that it wasn’t terribly expensive.

The Fabric

The pattern suggests a ponte knit and I had some navy ponte in my stash so sometimes it’s just best to color in the lines and follow what the pattern says!

Ponte is one of my favorite knits to work with – they’re super easy to work with and make really pretty structured garments. I used the Arietta Ponte Knit which I purchased from Style Maker Fabrics.

The Tee

I have mixed feelings on this top. I think in some respects, I really really like it. It’s kinda outside my wheelhouse, it’s fun and it’s unique. In other respects, I just am not sure that it’s totally me. I think it’s a little bit big in the chest and I actually like it better untied, but I had already sewn in the belt loops when I realized that and I am #lazy. I sewed up the 4/6 size, but probably could have sized down or graded between the smallest size and the 4/6.

I am really glad that I decided to sew it up though and add it to my #2018TopNine. I haven’t been sewing much that’s outside my comfort zone, style wise, recently so it was a bit of a change of pace.

Jessamy made a version of this pattern in a rayon – I loved how it looked on her. I think in a rayon, it would look a little bit different as it wouldn’t have as much structure as a ponte knit that I used.

All in all, I am happy with it – I’ve seen a bunch of these on people’s #2018MakeNine so I can’t wait to see other’s version of the Sointu!