'Convenient' Bento Tee

So any autumn sewing plans I had made were sidelined with the release of Liesl & Co's new patterns. I was pretty sure that there would be at least a couple that I would want to make out of the four releases and sure enough that is the case.  There were two dresses, culottes and a knit tee,  all of them look very wearable indeed, but I started with the simplest, the Bento Tee..  Not that I needed another sewing pattern for a jersey-type tee, but it looked very appealing.  There are two versions, the first is a longer sleeved sweatshirt with front in-seam pockets and the other is a hip length tee with cuffed short sleeves.

Bento Tee (Liesl & Co)

Bento is the little Japanese lunch box with rice, vegetables and other healthy delights, but 'bento' apparently also means 'convenient' - just a little snippet of information.

Beats a ham sandwich & a packet of crisps.
Not sure my sons would appreciate this.

I chose to make the sweatshirt version with the front pockets and I made it with a maroon coloured merino from newzealandmerinosandfabrics.co.nz.  The fabric is really cosy with a loopback finish on the inside, what better for one of the first cold days of autumn.  These patterns are all pdf and are laid out in a really easy way.  Rather than having a million sheets taped together the entire length and breadth of your front room, these are arranged so that you tape just enough at a time for each pattern piece.  Genius!  The pattern itself is very straightforward and the instructions make it very simple.

The pockets are a nice detail on this top, just big enough for your ipod, some money, key or whatever.  I shortened the top by 1 3/4 inches and for some strange reason the sleeves were incredibly long,  I don't think I have overly short arms, maybe they are longer to be turned back, anyway I reduced the length of mine by 2 inches.  The shoulders on this style are dropped, probably would look better on someone with a narrower frame than myself,  but I like it anyway.

I wore it with jersey trousers in these photos, but I think it would also look well with a straight skirt and, of course, the Girl Friday culottes.  They are on my sewing table at the moment,  I hope to finish them soon. (hope I have made the right size)

I also have got my knitting mojo back again, having left my knitting needles in the bag for months on end, but now in tandem with the first lighting of the fire, I have resumed my sweater. Yea!

First time using double pointed needles.

I am at the sleeve knitting stage and this is the first I have used dpn's, pleased to say I have got into the way of it, so I might start sock-knitting yet!

Will leave you with a photo of the autumnal full moon.  Til next time.