I Made Another Sweatshirt

Well, I made two.

My cousin Kelly said nice things about my grey and pink one so I made her one. Too bad if she was just being polite. I had enough fabric left over from my first, so it didn't cost me anything really. I made the sleeves shorter and cut the neck a bit scoopier at the front. In this pic it is still waiting its twin stitching which I think will make it sit a bit better especially around the bands.

Then I made myself second. This time from black merino and some flowery chiffon-like fabric both from The Fabric Shop in Otara. I went for a medium weight merino since I am not expert in sewing stretch fabrics. It was pretty easy to handle. The chiffon-like fabric was super shifty and frayey - just made up that word.

I am quite pleased with my efforts. I can see how an overlocker would speed up construction. I do have one of the school ones at home - because it doesn't get used at school. I might have to teach myself via youtube how to use it. Just the threading up puts me off - it looks very complicated.

(Pattern - McCall's 6992)

I Made a Sweatshirt

Way back at Easter, I found a really nice sweatshirt with a chiffon-like front panel that didn't come in my size so I visited Pattern Postie to find a pattern. McCall's 6992 looked about right. This morning I visited The Fabric Shop in Otara for some fabric for my first go.

I bought a merino/poly mix for a big $8 per metre and some chiffon-like flowers for the front panel. I didn't want to spend a lot of money in case it all turned to custard.

Attaching the cuff. Easy.

The neck band was a little bit more challenging because it required a bit more stretching of the band and I was worried about the 'gathers' in the flowery fabric.

At this point I tried it on and discovered the sleeves were waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too long!

Everything else about the fit is ok. Just those sleeves.

I have never made a sweatshirt before and have only ever used stretch fabric in very basic slightly A-line skirts that just pull up! I consulted the internet for some advice on how sewing stretch fabric on a sewing machine. I bought ball point needles and used the triple straight stitch for the seams. I also zigzagged the seams to 'finish' them. I could tidy it up even further by using a twin needle - I need to learn more about how to do that first. I am quite pleased with this first effort. It will be worn.

Since I was feeling a bit confident about my new found ability to sew stretch fabrics, I decided to cut out half of Style Arc's Allison Skirt from some navy blue ponti I got this morning ($12 per metre). The pattern had been a freebie in a previous Style Arc order. Just half the skirt because when I bought the fabric I was going to do my usual budget A-line skirt. So tomorrow morning I will be heading back to Otara for another .7 of ponti to finish my skirt. They have a great selection at the moment - all between $12 - $18 per metre.

I did finish a quilt last night too. Story to come.