June is birthday month for my family – Stella, me, then my husband.  Clare’s is in January.  I generally sew something for each family member when it’s their birthday.  I went with two old favourites for my husband this year.

You guessed it – it’s good old Jalie 2918 again! This time I sewed a long sleeved version – it’s winter after all. I have this pattern traced on to non-fusible interfacing, which sticks a little to the fabric so doesn’t even need pinning on. Makes it super fast to cut out and to sew.

The ‘nope’ fabric comes from Darn Cheap Fabrics, and if you think it looks familiar, that’s because I sewed him a short-sleeved version in the yellow colourway a few months ago (and used the leftovers of the yellow colourway to test out the True Bias Rio ringer tee pattern a few blog posts ago). It’s beautiful quality; medium weight, super soft and squishy, with just the right amount of elastane.

I don’t think that I’m ever going to be able to get him to pose in a relaxed and comfortable manner. The other garment I sewed is the Thread Theory Finlayson sweater. You can find previous versions here.

Once again the fabric comes from Darn Cheap Fabrics. It’s a printed stripe, traditional windcheater fabric in cotton/poly with a brushed fleecy back. I used black rib for the cuffs and bottom band rather than trying to sew them in the self fabric.

It’s such a nice collar! I’ve sewn it often enough that I find it quite easy to attach, and the instructions are very clear.

Back view photos are always interesting, because they reveal a lot about posture! In this case you can also check out the stripe matching down the sleeve seamline. The other seamlines are matched too! The key to straightforward stripe matching is the cutting out – cut out in a single layer if possible, and match key points across pattern pieces (like the armhole seamline).

Maybe he’s looking up at the sky wondering what the rest of 2020 will bring…..