Clay Tee in Drops Belle (Yarn & Pattern Review)

Last week I filmed my very first vlog which included me finishing my Clay Tee. I wanted to wait until I had some time to wear it before forming my final thoughts and that time has come.

Pattern Thoughts

This is my first pattern from Ozetta and I feel like I’ve been eyeing it for a while now. I’m not sure if it was the purl ridge texture, the oversized fit, or the pictures of her wearing it on the beach, but I just felt like it was such a cool summer shirt. I imagined it slightly longer than she shows it and paired with bike shorts.

There were a lot of things I liked about this pattern while actually knitting it. For starters, I really liked that the swatch had its own section with specific stitch counts and directions for each row. There was a lot of row-by-row instructions throughout, which I appreciated for this kind of texture. It made it easy to pick up and put back down. There is a note in the Tips section where she says that she used tallies to keep track of the repeats on the body and I also felt like that was a good way to do it. I never felt lost with this pattern. I felt like I was being walked through it, but I didn’t feel like I was having my hand held.

My only criticism would be that I felt like the short row directions could have been written in a more simplified way that made it easier to skim, but that’s honestly such a minor thing in how I feel overall. I love that there’s an option for short or long sleeves. I love that it’s garter stitch and stockinette curl borders with standard bind offs. The whole thing, both the way it’s written and the way it’s made, just feels really thoughtful—not just as a finished garment, but also as a project.

Yarn Thoughts

I got Drops Belle for this project because I saw a handful of people on Ravelry use it for this, plus I had an Amazon gift card. It’s DK weight with a fiber content of 53% cotton, 33% viscose, and 14% linen. The pattern originally uses double-strand Knitting for Olive Pure Silk yarn but says that can be swapped out for a DK weight instead. From what I know about Knitting for Olive Pure Silk, it's not exactly the ultra-smooth, shiny silk that the name implies. And from what I know about holding yarn double, that gives it more structure. So Drops Belle felt like it made sense as a substitution.

When I got my Drops Belle in the mail, I thought it was really interesting overall. I got it in the color Zinc which is kind of like a cool taupe. It’s made up of a bunch of smaller strands twisted into a loose sort of rope braid. Some strands are lighter and more cottony and some strands are slightly darker and shinier with more of a purple undertone. The color and construction give it a lot of depth just sitting in the skein. 

The first time I swatched it, I also swatched for my Rival Tee and my wedding guest shawl in the same sitting. I thought I was going to want to start with the Rival Tee pattern because I feel like I want the final result more, but I ended up loving the Drops Belle fabric so much that I felt compelled to start that next. When Megan got to work that day, she felt my swatch and said it felt “warm and cool at the same time,” and I agree. 

My main issue with this yarn is that it splits quite a bit. I kind of needed to keep a crochet hook on stand-by—there were many times I needed to ladder down to fix a stitch where I missed some strands. That being said, I think the fabric is absolutely worth the trouble. 

Final Thoughts

I think my feelings on the finished tee are a little more complicated than my feelings on the pattern or the yarn. It is technically long enough to wear with bike shorts, but I do wish it was just a tiny bit longer. I like it now, but I think it has the potential to grow on me and be even cooler once I’ve had some more time with it.

I honestly didn’t want to take my Clay Tee off the first time I wore it, but I think that mainly had to do with the fabric rather than the pattern. I’m not sure if I’d make another short sleeve Clay Tee, but I do see myself making the long sleeve version. I also wouldn’t hesitate to buy another pattern from Ozetta. It was well-written and a pleasant experience overall.

More than anything, though, this project left me wanting to work with Drops Belle again. There is just something so comfortable about the fabric in a way that feels really balanced. It’s warm but cool, drapey but still structured, soft but not too soft. It feels very neutral against the skin, with just enough weight to make it feel cozy. It’s actually not a want, but a need—nay, a declaration: I will be using Drops Belle again. Perhaps a cardigan.

Anyway, here’s my finished Clay Tee: