Have you been following along with my free pattern round up? That's great, because today, I'm going to share a review of one of those free patterns.

Today's pattern is the FREE Nap Time Creations Girls Free T-shirt. You can get a copy of the pattern on craftsy, but don't go downloading too quickly, because I have less than great news.

Before I get into the less than stellar review, please understand. I have worked with Nap Time Creations in the past. I have tested for her and I still stand 100% behind the paid patterns she has released that I tested (you can see the Slouchy Sweatshirt Review Here). I went back and forth with my conscience, not wanting to hurt a friend and designer with a bad review. But I also want to be true to myself and my blog. So please read this knowing that I'm saying these things to help people learn to be better seamstresses, not because I want to bash someone. I write it all with more than a bit of a heavy heart. :(

I was more than a little disappointed when I printed the pattern out. I should have looked before I told my husband which patterns to print. Once I saw the shaping of the shirt, I knew it wouldn't fit well. If you head over to the link (Nap Time Creations Girls Free T-shirt), in the middle of the page, you can see an assembly diagram. That diagram says it all. What, you don't see it? Then let me share with you how you know whether a t-shirt has been well drafted from just an initial glance.

Just from looking at the pattern pieces, I can see that:
1- The end of the shoulder point ends further out than the side seam. A good shoulder point should end at the end of the shoulder, which is generally even with, or less than the side seam, especially on a fitted shirt.
2- The armscye is SUPER shallow. The reason that you don't draft this close to the shoulder on a fitted garment is there's no room for the arm to move forward. Knits are a bit more forgiving, but you still need room for the arm to move.
3- The sleeve cap is very flat. Now, a flat sleeve cap isn't a bad thing in and of itself. It can be a style feature AND it will give more room in the shoulder for rotation and upward movement. But the sleeve cap ended up flat because there was very little curve in the armscye. For the 2 to fit, the sleeve cap has to be flat. This is good on a drop shoulder garment, NOT on a standard fitted t-shirt.
4- The shoulder seam is very flat. There are a few people with very squared off shoulders, but most people have a gentle slope along the shoulder from the neck to the end of the shoulder. This pattern, doesn't reflect that.

Ok, so I knew it wouldn't be enough to just tell my readers that the pattern was bad. That would be a disservice to Nap Time Creations and to you! So included below are photos of the garment. It isn't the worst fitting shirt I've ever seen. it is technically wearable and we will keep it as a pajama top.

But the wrinkles in the armscye and shoulder seam are bad. You can see clearly that the end of the shoulder is flowing past the shoulder point and down onto the arm (from point #1 above).

Further, you can see that the armscye is super shallow and doesn't hit against her actual underarm. (#2).

And of course wrinkles all pointing into the armpit.

So, we could redraft all of this. It would take time and if you had more than one kid, that would be frustrated. We COULD buy a well drafted t-shirt pattern. That wouldn't be a guarantee of a great pattern, but maybe a better chance, but it costs money! OR we can just find another free t-shirt pattern.

Lucky for you readers a bit more googling and I've found us another free t-shirt pattern that "looks" better drafted. At the very least, it doesn't have the problems I've listed here. BUT, I haven't tested it yet. If you have a bit of patience, I'll have a new free t-shirt pattern sewn up soon. It will be a mash up
the Girls Twirly Dress and the Girls Knit Tank, both by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom.