Happy New Year!!! Thanks for your comments on my year-end recap!
I had 11 glorious days in a row off for the holidays. Most of the time I was either binge sewing or binge purging the house. I was hoping after returning to work that I could keep up the machine sewing at night, but I really can't. It's just not feasible for me, but I enjoyed every minute of binge sewing while it lasted! (I mainly machine sew on weekends, though I can do some handstitching during the week.)
Let's talk about the sweatshirt, shall we???
The pattern is McCall's 6992. I cut the size 14, except at the neckline which was a 12 (but read more about the neckline below, I wound up cutting it differently later).
The navy contrast sleeves are Joann sweatshirt fabric from my stash. The big shocker was that the Joann's fabric looks like sweatshirt fabric and feels like sweatshirt fabric, but has no stretch. Surprise! UGH! So for the neckband I had to use some stretchy ribbed knit from stash.
The anchor fabric is Juicy Couture sweatshirt fabric from the defunct Lucy's Fabrics (miss that site totally and completely. I discovered Lucy's just before they changed their focus to rhinestones, and they stocked loads of wonderful knits that I loved. Sniff. When they sold off their knits, I bought the rest of the Juicy fabric. I had made full-on pjs from this fabric years ago.).
I pretty much trace all my patterns so that I can cut them single layer. On this pattern, I wanted the CF to be centered over the anchors.
Stretch twin needle action for the hem. Also you get a nice closeup of the anchors.
I twin needle stitched the hem of the sleeves, too. I did not add the cuffs so the sleeve is a little bit short. Next time I'll just add an inch to the sleeve pattern.
Like many reviews on PR mentioned, the neckline of this sweatshirt is kind of high. I cut off 1.5" all the way around, but if I make this sweatshirt again, I'll just lower it in the CF and CB, not all the way around. Now the neckline is a bit too wide.
I used rib knit from stash for the binding.
There is a new dress shop in Princeton that has dresses with heart patches on the elbows. Later I heard from ATP that this is a trend that's all over Pinterest? I didn't know! But I thought it would be cute to sew on some heart elbow patches to match the hearts next to the anchors. I did not think of it til after the sweatshirt was sewn, though, so I cut them out of felt and then stitched them on by hand.
So then it looked like that. The hearts are from red felt, so I have no idea what they are going to look like after being washed.
The pattern has a neat shoulder dart, though I had to mark it in red so I knew where it was for tracing!! All those lines were confusing for my vacation brain!
Completed front
The right elbow heart.
Completed Back. I think it would also be cute with one heart on one elbow and an anchor over the other elbow.
Overall I enjoyed working with this pattern, and the fact that it is a sweatshirt meant there wasn't much to do in the way of fit! And everything was already in my stash! Perfect!
Be well!!!
Super cute! The elbow patches are a fun touch.
ReplyDeleteThanks Shannon! I like the elbow patches too.
DeleteNice sweatshirt! The heart patches made me smile!
ReplyDeleteHi Vanessa! You're back--that's great! The heart patches make me smile too!
DeleteI am totally copying this. Thus is my favorite sweatshirt pattern. I have to start over with mine because of my recent mastectomy, but I had forgotten that I had added a scoop to the neckline. Thanks so much for mentioning this in your post. Great job on making something that looks like expensive RTW.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much Heather! Sending much healing energy to you!
DeleteI am totally copying this. Thus is my favorite sweatshirt pattern. I have to start over with mine because of my recent mastectomy, but I had forgotten that I had added a scoop to the neckline. Thanks so much for mentioning this in your post. Great job on making something that looks like expensive RTW.
ReplyDeleteIt's a really fun top. Love the hearts - what a great detail. I know you think the neckline is too wide as that's not what you wanted to make, but just looking at it on, it's so cool!
ReplyDeleteThanks Summer Flies! It feels cool and fun!
DeleteOr a heart over your heart, or tiny hearts all around the neckline ... no, wait, that would be appropriate on a two-year-old. Never mind.
ReplyDeleteHi LinB! I was thinking that I might be about 35 years too old for this sweatshirt, but it's just for home so no one will see me anyway...except for my readers!
DeleteOh, man, now I'm having elbow patch envy! Love your sweatshirt. No reason to just wear it around the house. Sweats are the new "smart casual" (whatever that means!).
ReplyDeleteThanks Mainelydad! I kind of want to sew a bunch of shirts with elbow patches now (the oval kind for the most part though). Loved your post about athleisurewear!!!
DeleteOh Kyle that is the cutiest sweatshirt.
ReplyDeleteThanks Faye! I love it too!
DeletePerfect timing! This pattern is next on my to-sew list, though i'm not sure when I'll get to it. I'd like to have it for after the baby, but I'd also like to try it on for the neck because of your review. I'm hoping it's straightforward enough to sew when sleep-deprived (fingers crossed)! Love the hearts!
ReplyDeleteHi Trumbelina! It is pretty straightforward. Lots of reviewers said it was too high, but there is a person on IG who has made the neck even tighter because she prefers it that way. and that is the joy of sewing--making exactly what we want! Maybe you could make a muslin of just the top quarter of the shirt??
DeleteYour top is really cute. I love the anchor fabric. For what it's worth, I don't have a single RTW sweatshirt that is stretchy and I have never purchased sweatshirt fabric that is stretchy.
ReplyDeleteThanks LindaC! I love the anchor fabric too. Interesting that your sweatshirts and sweatshirt fabrics don't have stretch. The anchor fabric has some stretch and the pattern calls for stretch. I just assumed they all did and I kind of thought it might not work since the pattern said it needs to have stretch, but I think it will be ok!
DeleteIt is the nature of sweatshirt fleece not to be stretchy, I think. We discussed it on PatternReview and we were all sort of surprised. :)
DeleteI can't believe it! I have been thinking of making a similar top..black and grey animal print with black sleeves. But yours is so fun and whimsical!
ReplyDeleteI think that you can never have enough sweatshirts. Nice job!!!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love it! I'm not a "heart" person, per say, but this is really a cute accent on the sweatshirt. Your vacation sounds lovely too, by the way. Binge sewing/creating and de-cluttering are how I daydream of spending my next days off! :)
ReplyDelete