The Swing By The Northeast Shirt

A philosophical question for stitchers of the ages. At what point does a pattern hack become…something beyond that? As in, at what point do you change so many things about a pattern that it is suddenly something else? The shirt I’m going to be showing you today is totally based on something but then I…basically changed almost everything about it. So I guess it’s still somehow sort of a grainline studio scout tee, but I doubt anyone would recognize it as such…

Let me backtrack here for a moment. When recently planning a trip with my friends Victoria and Joe (hi, Victoria and Joe!) who so graciously decided to visit me in India, they decided that while most tourists make a beeline for the camels , elephants and palaces, they wanted a different approach, and chose the Northeast of India, specifically the state of Sikkim, as their primary destination. And I’m lucky enough to have been invited to tag along with them to their stopover in Darjeeling and their journey to Gangtok, the capital of the state tucked neatly in the Himalayan mountain range. This is a different India than I had experience before, with Darjeeling, the colonial getaway steeped in tea and history, and Gangtok, rife with monasteries and momos (dumplings), clean and pristine in the clear mountain air, a city of wretchedly steep hills (I swear, despite missing the gym for a week, I think I got better workouts most days…). The mountain roads are terrifying but fascinating, and the weather is cool with clear days and chilly nights.

In steamy humid pre-monsoon Mumbai, the weather was one of the things I was most eagerly anticipating, but as I looked at my wardrobe, I realized that I had a serious dearth of cool-weather clothing. Given that I’m spending a lot of time in a warm place right now, I haven’t been making as much cold-appropriate stuff, and suddenly I realized that I really should be making stuff every once in a while for chilly situations. After all, it’s not like I’m never in them! So I have decided that I will make the rare warm piece, for chilly days and chilly places. Of course, it’s easy to only think about the things that you need right then and there, but hey, a little forward thinking never hurt anyone.

And I must say, this shirt was SO wonderfully cosy in Darjeeling, which, because of its high elevation, was actually colder than Gangtok, which is further north. I wouldn’t say it was freezing, more like in the 50’s and 40’s (farenheit) but the lack of heating in Indian homes meant this wonderful make kept me warm. Of course, it was a little incongruous at our cozy afternoon tea in the fancy Windamere Hotel, but I can live with that.

So here you go! An EXTREMELY modified Scout Tee:

Now, you’re thinking right about now, um, Leah,the Scout Tee is a t-shirt. This is…something else entirely. So what did I change? The better question is probably, what DIDN’T I change?

So, I lengthened the body pieces by about five inches in the front and seven inches in the back for that hi-low situation, and widened them into a swing shape. I also lengthened the sleeves, as you can see, to full length, and cut the front on the selvage, adding two inches for the placket. I also divided the back into a yoke, which I cut two of, one of which was on the bias, and a back piece, which I further widened to have room for a vent.

Yeah. As far from Scout as could be.

I totally did all this on the fabric, by the way, living dangerously, because I’m a rebel, Dottie, a loner, and man if I don’t LOVE the result!

 

The fabric is a flannel I got at my new favorite place in Mumbai, Thakur. It is cozy as hell, and I love it.

I had enough of it to match up the plaids at the side, although one side ended up better than the other. I guess that’s a thing?

Here’s my casual leaning look. I feel like with the flannel and the plaid it’s like a little 1990’s, which I loathe, but WHATEVER. I choose to not see that. I choose my reality, dammit!

There I am, in front of the hotel’s immaculate gates. Can’t you just see a Lord Something-or-other condescending himself right through these?

So that’s my shirt, a total hack, and one I might just have to replicate.

Oh, and those mountains? Fairly magnificent, for reals:

RIGHT?