Blog — t-shirt

ARTISANAL V
We make our short sleeve CAL by TADD® V-neck a little differently than most. We love working in all cotton and then we use special dye techniques to achieve a weathered and vintage feeling. The challenge is, it still needs to stay soft to the skin. Luckily, we work with skilled artisans who give us both. Combining fashion and function, under the ribbed V neck trim we add a rolled raw-edge jersey, that we miter with the rib. At the shoulder, we add a contrast chain stitch for another subtle accent. Stronger accents, also in chain stitch, pop at the sleeve hem and at the bottom hem. The label is stitched through at the back neck for one more small artisanal touch. For a long sleeve version, see the CHIP by TADD®.

V LIKE THIS SOFT TEE
We knit soft-to-the-touch cotton/poly jersey for DEX by TADD® short sleeve V-neck tee, and when we garment dye it, each component takes the dye tonally to create a special washed-down heather. We use the same yarn to knit the matching short rib for the neck. The spade-point patch pocket is from the same jersey as the body. We finish with tonal chain stitching at the sleeve and bottom hems.

RAW EDGES…AT THE COLLAR
AL by TADD® is not for everyone. But If you are bored with the “same old, same old,” we suggest that this rugged, weathered, soft-handed short sleeve T-Shirt with raw edges at the collar trim is a pretty terrific alternative. The trim is sewn down so it won’t unravel away, but the color will stay faded, and the high/low from the slub is knitted right into the fabric. Say hello to your new rough and ready buddy.

Space-Dyed Tee
No, not outer space. PAXTON by Thaddeus® is knit from space-dyed cotton yarn and spandex to create a special pique crew neck tee that is out of this world. Space dyeing is a process where color is applied at various lengths in the yarn process, so the color looks like it has been knit in a semi-random pattern. We chose tonal colors for Paxton. We knit the same yarn for the rib trim at the neck, but it comes out as a tonal contrast because of the difference in how much yarn is used for each fabric--technical meets fashion for a subtle difference. We used an end-on-end dobby shirting fabric for the trim at the side splits which we reinforce with double bar tacks and our 8 Point Star rivet. Hemmed Sleeves and a Hemmed bottom complete the clean look, and let the yarn and its colors do the talking.

Tee Time: Not Simple, Not Basic
For STEVE by Thaddeus®, we rejected simple and basic from the start. We used cotton heather yarns to knit soft jersey with spandex for a stretchy and soft feel right next to the body. In the same heather and spandex yarns, we knit stretch pique that we piece in as a tone-on-tone racing stripe that runs across the shoulder and down the sleeve from the collar to the cuff. We also add the same pique as side panels on the body of the crew neck. We rev up the collar by adding a triple ridge in the outside center of the crew trim. The seams are overlocked in dyed-to-match threads to blend in with the specially selected heather yarns—each color its own rich story for a tee that is neither simple nor basic.