Thursday, April 30, 2020

Sheridan Sweater & Brunswick Pullover

Coming soon: New Jessica Jones fabrics, in french terry and knits from Cloud9 Fabrics! As you know, "soon" is a relative term, and this year more so than ever. Things have gotten slower in a lot of ways and places. But, this fabric is scheduled to be released in "April/May 2020". Since April ends today, we'll assume it'll be May. :)

I of course was lucky to get some of Jess's sample fabrics to make things from. Jess chose this "Nocturnal" print french terry as her favorite, and she wanted it made into the Sheridan Sweater by Hey June Handmade. So here it is!


There are a variety of combinations of styles in the pattern, and Jess chose the built-up bateau (a.k.a."funnel") neckline, with cuffs and banded bottom. Here she is modeling it.


The french terry is luscious and easy to sew. It's about the weight of sweatshirt fabric. I love it!

If you know me, you know I like all things blue, and I chose Nocturnal as my favorite print from her new line, too. Fortunately, there was enough fabric that we could each get a top made from it. I liked the Brunswick Pullover pattern, also by Hey June Handmade, which makes a nice, loose-fitting, over-sized sweatshirt. The pattern offers either a large hood or a cowl neckline. Both took up a lot of fabric, though, and there just wasn't enough for either. Plus, neither was 'me'. I liked the neckline on Jess's Sheridan better, and it only required a little bit of fabric for a facing, so since the patterns come in many sizes, I printed just the neck pieces in my size from the Sheridan and adapted them to fit my Brunswick. It worked, and was quite simple to do. Voila!


I took the pics myself using my tripod and remote. And yes, I intentionally cut my head off. :D

A cute feature about the pattern is that it has side slits that button up.


Here's a closer look:


You can wear them as buttoned or unbuttoned as you wish.


I think if I made the shirt again, I'd skip the side slits, save a lot of work, and just make it more of a regular sweatshirt, as it's easy to get on and off with the sides closed.

Since the front and back neckline are very similar, I stitched a little "cheater" bartack so I wouldn't have to always hold the shirt up to tell front from back. You can buy cute little tags that say "This is the back", but I didn't have any of those, so I made do with this subtle little reminder.


I sewed both shirts entirely with my serger, which made them go really fast, since the serger finished the seams as it sewed them. I also serged the raw edges of the neck facing pieces, which you can see above. Neat and tidy.

So that's the first of the french terry sewing. I've completed a couple more tops, which I'll show you in another post or two. I've also been working on another pattern test. That pattern is due to be released by tomorrow night, so I'll show you my tester in the next post. It's another winner!

I've made a couple of face masks, too, and have three more in the works. They're quick and easy, but I haven't taken any photos, and I'm not sure whether I will bother or not. Do YOU have to wear a mask when going out? They aren't required here YET, but I'll be prepared if/when they are. Or maybe I'll start wearing one even if they aren't required.

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