Day: 1 July 2015

adult's clothing, sewing

yet another Finlayson sweater

I promise that this is the last Finlayson sweater that I will make and blog until at least next year!

Thread Theory Finlayson sweater in knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics

This time I used a cotton sweater knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics. I took a long time to cut this out, taking care to match all the stripes. Except – there is always an except, isn’t there? – I didn’t realise that there was actually a fault in the fabric and one of the grey and white stripes was narrower than the others. This made it absolutely impossible for me to match the fabric at the side seams. Bummer! However, if I hadn’t told you, I doubt you would notice. If you look carefully at this next photo you can see the problem. The rest of the fabric was fine, and it only affected the front piece.

Thread Theory Finlayson sweater in knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics

Once again this was constructed almost entirely on the overlocker. I made sure to interface the collar piece, and it sits beautifully as a result. I also used the machine to topstitch around the edge, and to sew the collar pieces to the body before overlocking the edges. This fabric started to ravel as soon as it was cut into, unsurprisingly, so the overlocker was a must for the rest of the seams.

Thread Theory Finlayson sweater in knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics

Blog posts and details on the other Thread Theory Finlayson sweaters that I have made are here, here and here.

Thread Theory Finlayson sweater in knit from Darn Cheap Fabrics

adult's clothing, Liesl + Co, sewing

Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape

I have had the Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape pattern in my stash for a little while, but I think that it was seeing Sarah’s lovely version that pushed me over the edge into making it.

Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape

The pattern description is as follows: Take a little stroll in this simple, chic, fully-lined cape. With buttons (or snaps) at the sides and the front, it’s easy on and off, and comfortable to wear when there’s a little chill in the air.

I sewed mine in vintage wool from deep stash; a lovely soft fabric that originally belonged to the mother of a friend. I wish I had paid more attention to stripe matching when I cut it out; although I managed to line up the blue stripes I failed to realise that it was an assymetrical stripe and didn’t align the black or white.

Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape in vintage wool

I lined the cape with a slippery poly satin from stash. Because this jacket is lined edge to edge with the outer it’s important to understitch carefully to stop the lining from showing. I also topstitched around the entire hem edges for extra security.

Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape in vintage wool

There is a facing at the back neck edge, but that is all. It wouldn’t be difficult to draft facings for all the hem edges if you were so inclined, however. The buttons are vintage, also from deep stash.

Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape

One of the problems created by letting blog posts lag so far behind the actual time of garment construction is that I tend to forget some of the details. I think that I made this in size 12 throughout, although it could have been a 10. My measurements are closer to the 14 at the moment. I’m pretty happy with the overall fit – although fit is clearly not a big deal in a garment such as this.

Liesl + Co Woodland Stroll Cape

This turned out to be a much more pleasing garment than I had originally anticipated. It was an impulse sew one evening after seeing Sarah’s cape, and I’m very glad that I took the time to give it a go. There is also a kid-sized version of this pattern for those who want to wear a bit of “mommy and me”.