Black Boxy Jumper

A few weeks ago, while looking for something else entirely, I came across this lovely boiled wooly/felty fabric from Fabric Land. I gave in and bought a metre of it, leaving with my head brimming with ideas. With such a plain fabric, I knew that I would have the opportunity to add some lovely details, and decided that this project would be the perfect opportunity to try out stand-up seams  as the fabric doesn't fray at all. It is quite a stiff fabric, so anything requiring drape was out of the question, but it was perfect to make a boxy jumper with, of course, the lovely stand-up seams.

For the seams, I just sewed the fabrics wrong sides together, as if I were to sew a french seam, but without then sewing the second line of stitching. For the seam allowance, I used I think 1/4 or 1/8", hardly anything so that it would stand up nicely. This worked perfectly with this fabric and would work for knits too, but would be an absolute disaster with anything that frays in the slightest! I based the pattern off a drop-sleeve jumper that I already have, which was a very simple design - the front and back bodices are pretty much a rectangles, and I then cut along the centre back to add a seam there too. I'm really glad I did this, It's something that I've noticed on quite a few items of clothing recently, and I think that it's a lovely effect.

My favourite feature this the drop down sleeve, where the shoulder stitching meets the top of the sleeve. I love how the details compromise for the plain fabric! It's hard to tell from the photos, but it has a lovely texture to it. My main problem with this jumper is that the fabric is incredibly scratchy, and while it's fine on my arms and where I can have a top underneath, I wanted to go for a higher neckline and it really rubs. Because of this I've had to wear a turtle-neck underneath, but whilst this is fine for the Winter I would like to do something about it, so I am considering sewing a bit of fleece inside the neckline, which should work nicely. For the hem, I simply left the jumper un-hemmed and then sewed a line of stitching 1/4" away from the edge.

Overall, I'm not entirely sure about this, but it is definitely growing on me. With the sleeves rolled up, it looks oversized rather than too big which is a relief, and I love wearing it with my pencil pin-badge! I also like the fabric a lot. In this picture I am 'doing a normal task', my Mum's idea so that I could see what the jumper looks like 'in action'. A surprising concept, but I actually think it worked - I was able to see what the sleeves look like rolled up instead of down! I know that it's black, but it is winter and it's a nice shade of black, if that's even possible?! I think that once I have sewn the fleece into the neckline to make it less scratchy inside it should be more wearable.