For Fathers Day this year I decided to make a pair of matching t-shirts for Bean and Russell, from the fabric that they had both spotted at the local fabric store last time I went to pick up a bit of interfacing.

At seven (and three quarters!) years old, Bean is obsessed with space, so this stretch cotton jersey printed with planets tickled him as soon as he spotted it, so I ended up buying the bolt end (1.6m) without an actual plan in place.

As Fathers Day was approaching I thought I’d try to make something matching for the big and little guys in my life, and suspected I could comfortably cut a couple of t-shirts, one in a mens medium size and another in an age 8, both considerably lengthened.

I cut the two t-shirts quite comfortably, with enough fabric left over to make some matching briefs, and I suspect if I revisit those scraps I may be able to squeeze a third pair from what remains.

The two t-shirts do not match exactly. I opted to make the child’s t-shirt (the Emi tee) with a fine jersey rib band both at the bottom hem and the sleeves, which could be lengthened in the future if needed, and though both the adult’s and child’s t-shirts use the same fine ribbing for the neckline, the mens t-shirt (the Longboard tee) I left with a simple turned bottom hem and sleeves.

I am slowly trying to increase the number of handmade t-shirts in Russell’s wardrobe. As he is very tall (196cm, or 6ft 5″) even ‘longer fit’ t-shirts don’t cover him comfortably, especially after a few wash cycles have done their work, so being able to sew t-shirts to a customised length makes a big difference to comfort. Similarly, Bean is tall but slim, and so shop bought t-shirts made for his age and even a year or so older tend to be short but also too wide, so I tend to sew his tops with extra growing room in the length.

Making t-shirts myself is usually a relatively expensive choice (in comparison to, for example, a t-shirt from a supermarket clothing range) but they tend to last far longer, be made from superior quality fabrics and fit better and, especially for Bean, a much longer time, so when I am able to (and when they are needed), I hope to add to the t-shirts in circulation and phase out the shop bought ones once they reach their end of life, because part of living sustainably should be making choices that last as long as possible.