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.