The first Finlayson sweater that I sewed for my husband turned out to be quite a hit.  He’s worn it so much that it is starting to get a little worn out.  The fabric that I used for his “wearable muslin” was fairly stretchy and lightweight, and hasn’t worn and washed quite as well as I would have liked.  For his second Finlayson sweater I used a more robust knit, also from Darn Cheap Fabrics.

I made this exactly the same as last time. Size Medium, no alterations. I think that the sleeves are too long, but I have been instructed to leave them as they are and not sneakily shorten them (I did consider it).

Last time I made this I left the collar uninterfaced. It really suffered a bit as a result, so this time I made sure to interface the upper collar piece with quality knit interfacing. Most construction is on the overlocker, with a little bit of machine stitching to baste the collar pieces in place to the neckline, and to do the top stitching around the edge of the collar.

On first wearing, my husband discovered a problem. There was a slash in the centre back of the sweater, just about the right size and position for it to look as though someone had stabbed him in the back!

I can only guess that I somehow put that very neat slash there with the rotary cutter at some stage when the sweater was being cut out. I have managed to repair it with a small zig-zag from the wrong side. After a thorough steam press it’s virtually undetectable, thanks to the texture of the knit fabric.

He really wasn’t a very cooperative model. There are now another two of these sweaters in the cut-out-ready-to-sew box…