On My Way to Linden Town

Another double banger post today! This is actually the other half of my sewing marathon last weekend, when I decided I was only sewing season appropriate clothes which could be assembled completely on my overlocker. The Linden Sweatshirt definitely fills both of those criteria, as well as a hole in my wardrobe! This post is a bit light on photos, because I was having a case of serious derp face this morning. These were the best I could do…

 
The first one is view B, cropped with no bands. Its made up in ponte from The Fabric Warehouse, bought at the same time as the mustard I used for my first Brume Skirt. The fabric is weird but awesome, the lace pattern is flocked so its a bit fuzzy. I’ve used the wrong side for the sleeves, so they’re fuzzy on the inside!

 

I had originally planned to use some plain black knit to make the neckband, but when I was trying it on to check the fit after sewing up the side seams I decided I really liked it without the band. Instead I used a strip of bias tape as a facing, the same as I would do for a woven top. The neckline is wide enough that my head fits through it without it needing to stretch, thankfully! In hindsight, I should have sewn on the knit neckband and turned that under and topstitched it down, to keep the neckline sitting flat, as it stuck up quite a lot until I steamed it into submission. It sits almost flat now…

 
I was sewing this top about an hour before I needed to leave for my little sisters birthday dinner, so I put my makeup on before I was totally happy with how the neckline was sitting (most efficient use of limited bathroom time). I decided it could do with another burst of steam, so I whipped it off and ironed it a bit more, which made it sit much better. Happily I looked in the mirror again before I left, because it had left a whole lot of black velvet dust stuck to my foundation where I caught it on my chin/jaw. The 5 o’clock shadow look was not quite what I was aiming for!

 
The second Linden I made last weekend was version A, full length and with bands. Its made in the most delicious merino wool sweatshirting, its so fleecy and fluffy and soft on the inside! 
 
Seriously, so cuddly…

I jazzed it up a bit by adding strips of lace along the raglan seams. I’ve been planning a version like this since I lost my mind over this amazing version over on Katy&Laney. That lace Laney used is so incredible! I couldn’t find anything even remotely that gorgeous, but I think this lace trim looks ok. The black looks nice with the deep wine colour of the sweatshirt, so I used black for the neckband too. Originally I used black for the hem band as well, because I didn’t have any more of the merino left, but I was really unhappy with the way it looked. I just felt like there was something off about it, so I put it aside for a few days while I figured out how to rescue it.

 
Eventually I trotted back to The Fabric Store and bought an extra 20cm strip of the main fabric to make the hem band. i also shortened it by 2″, and I’m feeling much happier with the results! I feel much less frumpy in it than I did before. Funny how such a small change can completely alter your perception of a garment! Its still not perfect, I think next time I’ll take some width off the centre back when I’m cutting out, as its a bit baggier than I’d like. I like the fit of the front though, so I can’t just take it in! 

  
So there we go, another week of one pattern two ways. Which one is your favourite? I think the long sleeved version wins for me, just because its so warm and snuggly. I’m looking forward to wearing it to work in the morning when it gets really cold (not that I’m not wearing it now, even though its not really that cold…)

Summer basics: Linden and Scout(s)

Wellington is absolutely scorching hot at the moment, and I am feeling very grateful for the summer sewing I did over the Christmas break! I’ve stuck with the Grainline theme and whipped myself up another couple of Scout tees to go with my Maritime shorts, and also made up a Linden sweatshirt. I’m chucking them all in one post, because I really don’t have much more to say about the Scout, aside from how much I adore it!

I’ll start with the Linden Sweatshirt, since its one I haven’t made before. Its a really nice raglan sleeved sweatshirt, it was really quick and easy to sew up. I did have a couple of hurdles with making it though! I found this white cotton sweatshirting (is sweatshirting the same as french terry? This is smooth on one side, and loopy on the other) from the Fabric Store, but I had trouble finding ribbing to match. In the end I got some cream/off white ribbing from The Fabric Warehouse, and was quite pleased with the colour combination. Unfortunately, I chucked the ribbing in the wash with some pink silk satin I have for lining my upcoming Victoria Blazer, and dyed it a delicate pink!

Of course, when I went to buy more cream ribbing, they’d sold out, so I decided I could just deal with the pink. I do quite like the colour combo, its just a bit girlier than I would usually go for! The construction was very straightforward, until I went to attach the neckband. The double layer of ribbing plus the sweatshirting gave the overlocker some serious issues, resulting in repeatedly broken threads and eventually a broken needle. I think maybe the needles were too blunt to deal with three thick layers of fabric, but it managed to sew the neckband and cuffs on the next day, once I had installed some new needles. It was a frustrating half hour before the needle broke though! I’ve never come across issues like that with the overlocker before…

There aren’t many photos of me wearing it, because its just too hot!

I decided against adding the bottom hem band, I just folded the hem up by an inch and sewed it with my twin needle. I have some lovely black merino in my stash, just waiting for winter to arrive before it gets made into another Linden!

The first of my latest two Scout tees (I’m on a bit of a Scout bender) is the same as the previous one I made. The fabric is an embroidered cotton from The Fabric Store, of course. Its really nice and light, a loose weave almost like muslin. I’m a sucker for gingham, and I really liked the embroidered border, but I didn’t want to make it into a dress or anything which could end up looking a bit Wizard of Oz or rodeo-ish. So a nice simple Scout it became!

Its a straight size 6, with the seams overlocked rather than french seamed because I was feeling lazy. It was a lazy project really, the embroidery meant there was no hemming required! Not much else to say about this one, so straight onto the next one…

A knit Scout! I am totally in love with this one, its the tee shirt of my dreams! The fabric is a luscious bamboo cotton knit from Blackbird Fabrics, and it is just the softest, drapiest, most delicious stuff to wear! I bought it as soon as Blackbird Fabrics opened their online store, as I haven’t been able to find a good breton striped knit anywhere. In fact, I was so eager to buy it that I followed the link out of the Sewaholic blog post talking about it to the shop and bought it before I finished reading the post, only to see that there was a discount code at the end! I felt like such an idiot, but when I left a comment exclaiming about my stupidity, Caroline kindly took the discount off anyway. Blackbird fabrics were great to deal with all round, actually. Caroline emailed me regarding a change in shipping procedures to NZ and offered to refund me if I wasn’t happy with the new arrangements, and was just generally lovely and helpful!

I cut this version out in the smallest size, and then sewed it up with a standard overlocker 3/8″ seam allowance, and it fits just how I wanted it to. Isn’t it nice when things turn out just right? I cut the neckband quite narrow, as I wanted it to be plain navy, so I topstitched it down with my twin needle to stop it flipping over. This is a step I never usually bother with, I just steam the crap out of it and hope it stays in place!

Have I mentioned that I love it? I really really do!

Anyway, this has been quite a long, picture heavy post, so good job if you’ve made it this far! Tomorrow morning I’m heading up to Auckland to go to the Laneway Festival, where I get to see my favourite ever band, Belle and Sebastian! I’m beside myself with excitement about getting to see them play, I never in a million years thought they’d come down to NZ! I’ll leave you with my favourite song off their latest album…