It’s been a while but our newest pattern is ready (and more will be following hot on its heels!). The Woodley Tee is a relaxed fit crew-cut t-shirt meant to be comfortable and practical. I am very excited about this one because it is the first of our Quarry Workwear Collection; you will be meeting the rest of the workwear in this collection throughout the Fall and Winter!
The Quarry Workwear Collection is different than our previous collections in that each of it’s patterns will be available in men’s and women’s sizing. It also includes an expanded size range all the way up to a 57″ Chest for our men’s size chart and a 51″ Chest for our women’s size chart.
Get to know the Woodley…
The Woodley Tee is an important staple in this collection because it gives you a good indicator of the relaxed fit you might expect from the more complicated upcoming patterns. That being said, the Woodley Tee isn’t just practical, there are some fun styling details too! You have the option to sew a colour-blocked tee or a monochrome tee and you can add a pocket featuring contrast or self fabric. The back neckline and shoulder seams are beautifully finished with self (or contrast) fabric or twill tape. The instructions walk you through sewing with knits with or without a serger.
The Woodley Tee is the first pattern that Adrianna, our talented pattern development manager, has worked on from start to finish. You can look forward to the clarity of her instructions and the accuracy of her beautiful illustrations…really, her work on the instruction booklets is amazing! I am so thrilled to have her expertise on our team since the detailed nature of our instruction booklets have been one of the best reviewed aspects of our patterns for many years now. Adrianna, with the Woodley Tee and all patterns moving forward, has helped push Thread Theory to the next level in quality and clarity.
How we wear the Woodley…
Modelling the Woodley Tee was a family and farm affair this time! My dad and Matt gamely agreed to wear their samples during the sweaty work of splitting a year’s worth of firewood in one day. We rented a wood splitter this year since all my parent’s forest management efforts had led to such a huge pile of rounds to process.
My dad typically wears a size L these days when purchasing store bought garments but I offered him an XL as his sizing can fluctuate quite a bit and really falls between L and XL on our size chart. He liked the extra length provided by the XL as he typically tucks his t-shirts in. The short sleeves also fell at his preferred length and the shirt body matched his preferred amount of ease. If I were to sew him a custom tee I would probably grade down to a L at the shoulders and keep the XL for the rest.
Matt is wearing a size S sample. He is between our size S and M sizes but tends to prefer a slightly more fitted look so I went with the smaller size.
He liked the length of the long sleeves (he has long arms and we have always drafted our patterns to include slightly longer sleeves than many RTW brands provide). I think the fitted crew-neck looks very flattering on him.
The women’s pattern was drafted and graded separately to match a women’s size chart but features the exact same fit and style lines to create an androgynous garment.
Since our workwear collection includes my sizing, I modelled this time as well! I wore our women’s size 2 and I match the size chart quite closely. I really love the cut of this tee at the waist and hips in particular – it doesn’t hug anything tightly but feels a lot less slouchy than the basic tees I already have in my closet because it is a bit more fitted at the hips. I am not used to such a close crew-neck (I tend to purchase tees with scoop necklines) but found it to be very comfortable and also kind of cozy. I really like how the pocket and color blocked seamline add enough detail to the top that I feel comfortable wearing it with a bralette or lace bra rather than a smooth and padded t-shirt bra…not sure if anyone relates to this, but in my closet, any top that works with comfortable and minimalist undergarments is in heavy rotation!
The pattern features a number of variations including seam finishes, cuff fabric options (ribbed or self) and short or long sleeves. The long sleeve monochrome variation sewed up wonderfully in a lush sweater knit with matching ribbing for the neckline and cuffs. If I wanted a roomier sweater or to use an even bulkier knit I could just go up one size.
As you’ve probably noticed, a basic t-shirt was a bit of glaring gap in our existing pattern catalogue. I hope it will help to fill the corresponding gap in your me-made wardrobe! I look forward to seeing your versions on social media using #woodleytee or you can email photos to me at info@threadtheory.ca.
Celebrate the launch
This week only, to celebrate the launch, download the Woodley Tee for 15% off using code WOODLEYLAUNCH
Lastluy, stay tuned for the upcoming Woodley Sew-along! It will be run on our website with weekly email newsletter updates so make sure you’re signed up for the newsletter if you want to sew-along with us. Here on the blog you can expect the next post to be all about Summer life on the farm!
Happy sewing!
Download the Woodley Tee: Women’s Sizing or Men’s Sizing
Thread Theory 
July 28, 2021 at 4:36 pm
Named after Woodley Range? If so, that was my mountain! Right in front of our (my folks’) house and it was SO big when I was little! Great pattern Morgan.
Laila Strain