This latest version takes the number of Thread Theory Finlayson sweaters that I’ve made so far to four.  Finlaysons are fantastic!  The first one is here.  The second one is here.  The third one was for my dad – it was never blogged and I only have one snap of that to show you.

Dad’s was made in size Small, with shortened sleeves, in a knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics. The fourth one was made last week for my husband.

This one is the Medium. As with the last couple I made him, I think that the sleeves are too long, but he disagrees so I have been forbidden to remove any length. The fabric is a proper rugby knit form Rathdowne Fabrics. The first two I made have been on high rotation and haven’t washed very well. I have higher hopes for this one.

Those bold stripes did require some thought in regards to placement and stripe matching. I’m quite pleased with the result. I used knit fusible interfacing in the collar, which has given it lovely shape and structure. I’m rather pleased with my efforts!

Most construction was on the overlocker. I used plenty of pins to help keep the stripes aligned. Didn’t feel the inclination to baste. They are mostly spot on. I only used the sewing machine for the collar (although I still overlocked the edges once the collar was attached).

And guess what? There is another one cut out, although this time in a jumper knit that is going to be much more challenging to sew. I think that I’ve been avoiding it….

(and how many people get why I loved writing that blog post title so much?)

This is definitely an autumn/winter of simple sewing.  Straightforward patterns that let the prints and the colours shine.  And that take me very little time to sew (but surely that isn’t my primary motivator)!

You saw my first version of the Grainline Linden pattern here.  Since then I’ve made two more.  Each time I made size 10, and removed length from the sleeves but folding out a bit over an inch from the pattern piece in two places, both above the elbow and below.  This shortened the sleeves around 5-6 cm in total.

This first one was a happy meeting of remnants. The abstract print used for the sleeves and bands came from The Cloth Shop in Ivanhoe. Yes, it was a small piece, but I was certain that it would find something to pair with at some stage. It didn’t take long before I came across another remnant,this time from Darn Cheap Fabrics. When I laid eyes on the slightly textured, jacquard knit in their remnant bin I knew exactly what it was destined for.

These are softer, lighter weight fabrics than the one that I used for my first Linden. This makes the sweater much more drapey, with a looser and more relaxed fit. The crocheted scarf I am wearing in the first photo is the Boteh scarf – pattern available here. It’s one of my favourites.

You can see the texture of the solid knit more in that photo. I used the bottom band instead of the shorter curved hemline because I was feeling too lazy to rethread the machine or to get out the fusible hemming tape. It was much faster and easier to simply add the bottom band, and it provided me with the opportunity to add that little bit more contrast.

The next was an impulse sew. I called in to Spotlight to buy some fake fur to make Clare a vest, and while I was there I spotted a printed fleece with a plush backing. Oh, the softness – that was going to be be against my skin! I succumbed, bought the fabric, and cut it out that night.

This used exactly the same pattern pieces as the last one, but the fabric choice has changed the fit substantially. It is much more like a windcheater. I managed to attach the neckband with the seam at centre front, so spent some quality time with the unpicker before reattaching it the correct way around. That possibly took longer than the rest of the construction process.

The plush backing of the fabric made it a bit shifty when there were a few layers together. I had to use more pins than usual! I originally planned to leave the hem band off this one and do the curved front hem, but forgot until after the hem band was attached and the top pretty much finished.

That’s probably it for the Linden pattern for me – for now. I have a feeling that it may re-emerge with the shorter sleeves and length once we get to spring – but that is a long, long way away!