Men's Jumper

This is my final handmade Christmas present of 2017: a men's jumper. After making a shirt for my Dad's birthday last year (which he still wears and is still one of my favourite makes for others!) I offered to make him a jumper. During the summer, he chose a lovely knit fabric from a haberdashery we came across, and asked me to sew him a jumper out of it. Although it took me an embarassingly long time to actually get on with it, once started it was a quick and easy project and completed in time for Christmas.

Finding a pattern was definitely the hardest part of this project. I know that there are quite a few men's patterns out there, but the difficult part is finding them! I would love any recommendations that you have. There is a great round up of patterns here, but unfortunately the guide came out after I made this jumper! I will definitely be having a look through this next time though. The problem I was faced with was finding a mens jumper pattern which did not feature raglan sleeves, no hoodies, had cuffs etc. My favourite one I came across was the Paxson jumper, but it has raglan sleeves, which was a feature that was clearly pointed out should not be part of the success criteria! After a lot of research, I actually decided to use a t-shirt pattern and bought the Oliver + S men's Metro t-shirt pattern. I actually think it worked really well. I sewed it with a slightly smaller seam allowance to allow for the thicker than intended fabric, and also added cuffs at the end. I wasn't sure wether or not to add a waistband, and this might still be something I will add on my next one, although it does work well with just a hem.

Although the colour of the fabric is showing up quite well in these photos, I would say it is slightly duller in real life. Because of this, upon purchasing the fabric my Dad asked me to add in a pop of colour - orange, to be precise (probably inspired by these!). I was faced with the dilemma of wanting to keep the jumper a surprise for Christmas but wanting to make it wearable, so I compromised: my Dad chose the fabric and style, but didn't see the fabric made into a jumper until Christmas day. I really like the extra touch of orange, which is just a small amount of bias tape folded and sewn into the side seam. It's hardly noticeable but is a nice detail and makes it both more interesting and more unique.