This September marks the start of my first year without wearing a uniform, which of course means that there are lots of clothes waiting to be sewn! When it comes to making more everyday clothes I've found that what I really need to sew at the moment are long sleeved tops. I spend most of winter freezing, so making tops that can be worn either alone or on top of t-shirts (i.e. as jumpers) is exactly what I have in mind. This also means that I want to make something out of pretty much all the knit fabrics I see!
My latest make ticks all the boxes which is no surprise as the Grainline Studio Linden Sweatshirt has never disappointed yet! This is in fact the tenth one I've made - TEN!! Not all for me, as my Mum also loves this pattern. Each version I make seems to turn out completely differently due to fabric weight, cuff/hemband addition and also length. I don't wear all of my Lindens as the ones sewn a couple of years ago no longer fit or aren't what I want to wear at the moment, but the majority are still worn regularly. I can immediately see this one becomming my new favourite as it's already filled a gap by being the perfect length and colour to pair with brighter trousers.
When a make is this simple I really like to spend time on the details to make sure it's finished to the best possible level. I really love wide hems, I think they add a much more professional finish and they're also much nicer than small hems on jersey fabric. I was keen to make this jumper the perfect cropped length. I think the length is just right and the proportions are definitely aided by the wide hem. It might be hard to tell from the pictures but I've added two rows of topstitching to secure the hem in place which is another really small detail that I love. I also decided to add cuffs which finish offnthe top nicely.
The only slight hiccup in the making of this top was the neckband. The rib fabric I used is super stretchy, meaning that I had to unpick the neckband (which I had overlocked in place!) and cut it almost in half before re-attatching it as it just wasn't being stretched enough to bring in the neckline. It was annoying but defintiely worth it and the fabric is perfect in every other way. It means that I have a better idea of what to do next time I use such a stretchy fabric on a Linden as the majority of the ones I've made in the past were using sweatshirt knits not ribs. In fact, the next one is hopefully coming very soon as I absolutely love this top and I'm already convinced it would be perfect in a variety of other colours!
Love your Lindens. Your neckline came out nicely, it was worth doing over.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely practical top. With regards to the neckline being stretchy, you could cut the front and back neck opening a little higher next time, add bias tape and just do a fold back hem. Another option would be to back the sweatshirt fabric neckpiece in a fine stretch bias tape first, maybe apply with fabric adhesive then stitch as normal. You could try this out on scraps first of course.
ReplyDeleteThis is so cute and perfectly sewn! You have made yourself so many clothes. It's such a wonderful feeling to look in the cabinet and see all the lovely items made by you, isn't it?! Nice save on the neckband. We've all been there. Neckbands are tricky because of all the different types of fabric and stretch amounts. Just when you think you have perfected a neckband, then you try another fabric. :)
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