Sewing the Ellie and Mac Oversized Tee in Cotton Knit

Quick and easy knit tops are the THING to sew for active kids. They are comfortable to wear, easy to play in, and don’t take up more than a few hours of your sewing time.

The Pattern

I used the Oversized Tee pattern for Kids from Ellie and Mac for my most recent sew for my daughter. I tried the adult version of this pattern out last month and was happy to sew another one in my daughter’s size. Here is my version of the adults pattern from last month.

Just like the adults, the kids Oversized Tee pattern includes a cropped, t shirt, or tunic length that can be finished with a hem or band as well as short or long sleeves.

For mine, I did the longer crop length with a hem in a cotton lycra. For my daughter’s I used a cotton interlock and did the shirt length with a band.

This particular cotton interlock is called Sidewalk by Rae Hoekstra and is a Cloud 9 Organic Knit fabric I got in a sale box from Simplifi Fabric many years ago.

The sleeves on this pattern are dropped and the fit is super roomy and is PERFECT for her growing self. I have a feeling she is going to be able to wear this for many years due to the extra ease.

I asked her how old she is, and she showed me 3! She is correct. Based on her measurements, I made a size 2 for her width and a 3 for her height.

The pattern includes the options to sew a crew neck, boat neck, or hood to finish the neckline. I did the crew neckline option for both of ours.

I noticed that she has more room in her neckline than I do, though. I felt the adults fit tighter around the neck than the kids. If I make another one for myself, I will lower the neckline slightly for comfort.

She is so happy with her pencil shirt! She wants another one in long sleeves, but I know that warm weather is right around the corner so I will probably make her another short sleeve or 2 for summer.

Sewing Notes

I completed this project in about an hour. I used my serger to sew all the seams and used a coverstitch to hem the sleeves and topstitch my neckband. The coverstitch is not required. You can easily use a stretch stitch or twin needle on your sewing machine to finish the sleeve hem, or if you do the long sleeve version, there is the option to use a band to finish the sleeves.

I love how this project was so quick to sew for her. This fabric is really soft and was stable and easy to sew with. If you use fabric with a lot of stretch and drape, you would get a very different look than I did.

My favorite thing about sewing Ellie and Mac patterns is the 1/4 inch seam allowance. I need to change the knife on my serger and have been putting it off. I have noticed lately it is dull in trimming seam allowances if I sew a pattern that is 3/8 or 1/2 an inch. I know this is something so silly to mention, but I really am happy when I can sew a 1/4 inch seam allowance on a knit project!!

Style

My daughter styled her top with a pair of cotton lycra leggings and her brothers cowboy boots. She loved this outfit she put together and was super proud to take photos in it. When she wore it a second time, she chose some black/white converse shoes so she could run a little faster.

For my cropped top, I chose a pair of high waisted leggings and running shoes. This is a great around the house comfy tee.

I love the longer leg line it gives my short (5’2″) self when I wear a longer crop with higher waisted pants!

Resources

• Oversized Tee Pattern for Kids
• Oversized Tee Pattern for Adults
• Oversized Tee Pattern Bundle of Kids + Adults

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Disclosures

I received this pattern for free as part of the pattern testing process. I received the fabric for my top for free from a sweet friend. I am not sure where she bought it from and was happy to have a fun top out of it. Also, this post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate your support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.