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The Bowen Sewalong is a step-by-step video series designed to guide you through sewing the Bowen, from choosing your size to finishing the final details.
In this sewalong, we walk you through each stage of the process in short, focused lessons. You can move through the videos at your own pace, pause as needed, or skip ahead if you’re already comfortable with certain steps.
Bowen is a cool and casual top inspired by the classic baseball tee. This T-shirt features a straight cut, full-length raglan sleeves, and an elevated henley placket with a tapered neckband.
Bowen also features our gender-expansive fit, meaning it was developed and fit on both male and female bodies.
To follow along, you’ll need the Pattern. Seamwork members can download it as part of their membership, and non-members can purchase it individually in the shop.
Getting Started
Fabric recommendations: Look for medium-weight knit fabrics with at least 25% of 2-way stretch, such as cotton jersey, bamboo or soy jersey blends, rib knit, and interlock knit.
Fabric qualities to look for: You don't need a fabric that's really stretchy to sew this tee. It’s perfect for more stable knits and great for color-blocking if you have scraps in your stash.
Seamwork members, take advantage of your member deals this month! You can save up to 20% off your order here.
Prepare to Sew
This lesson covers all the basic things you need to know to get started with this sewalong. If you’re a beginner, this will be really helpful to watch!
If you feel like you already know how to get your pattern and fabric ready for sewing, go ahead and skip to the next lesson and you'll learn to do some helpful fitting adjustments.
You're going to learn how to:
- Select a pattern and reference its skill level
- Select a size
- Prepare patterns and fabric
- Cut and mark fabric
Fitting Adjustments
Bowen has a straight cut. You might be tempted to blend between sizes to create more shaping, but for garments with a straight cut, trying to blend can change the design and the overall fit. Instead, select the largest size you’ll need, make a muslin, and see if you need to pinch out any areas to improve the fit.
Bowen also features our gender-expansive fit, meaning it was developed and fit on both male and female bodies.
In this video, you’ll learn some helpful fitting adjustments for the Bowen tee.
Bodice and Sleeve Length
You can adjust the bodice and sleeve length to suit your personal preference.
Increase Sweep
If you need a little more room at the hip, you can increase the sweep.
We created a free downloadable PDF called the Four Height Zones to help you gather the information you need to make adjustments to your pattern where you need it. We recommend printing it out and writing your height measurements on it to keep in your sewing journal.
Compare these measurements to the corresponding landmarks on your pattern pieces, and you'll know how much you need to shorten or lengthen that part of the pattern.
Sewing Instructions
The PDF instructions will be your main guide as you work through this pattern, but we've created this video to walk you through the trickiest steps in detail. If you need help on a step not shown in this video, check out the Community Group Sew, where other Seamworkers and staff are ready to help out!
The trickiest steps for this pattern are:
- Sew Front Placket (01:12)
- Sew Neckband (10:56)
