Today’s blog is not a moment too soon. It’s Baltic outside at the moment and I need all the layers I can get – especially if they are soft and warm like this!
Let’s talk about the fabric first, as this was partially gifted to me by byGraziela. I fell in love with the Leaf sweatshirt fabric in the Berry colour way, so bold and pretty, and was very kindly sent this to use to make a garment of my choice. To contrast with this I purchased plain jersey for the hood lining and cuff fabric in smoky blue. I love how these colours work so nicely together. The main fabric has a large retro soft dusky pink leaf design on a stunning berry/raspberry coloured background. A random heart can be spotted on some of the leaves which is a really sweet touch. Also, the sweatshirt fabric is brushed on the reverse so is super soft and cosy.
Keep reading to find out about how you can enter a giveaway to win some fabric from byGraziela and a necklace from my shop which I’ll give you details about at the end of this post…
The pattern that I chose to make is a mash-up of two sweatshirt patterns. The Stella Hoodie from the Stretch! book by Tilly Walnes (from Tilly and the Buttons), and the Jarrah sweatshirt pattern (view A) from Megan Nielsen.
I basically used the Stella hoodie pattern from the top down to the underarm seam, and from that point down I used the Jarrah pattern. The reason for this was because the Stella has a long, feminine, more fitted shape to it’s body, and I was after a loose boxy shorter version. I used the Stella in a size 4, and the Jarrah in a size 8. For reference my measurements are 35-29-38 and I am 5’2″.
I have made the Stella Hoodie before, and as I have found with all of Tilly’s patterns, an absolute pleasure to sew. I have also sewn the Jarrah Sweatshirt, but not this version, so was looking forward to seeing them hacked together.
The quality of the fabric is superb, without doubt one of the best quality sweatshirt fabrics that I have ever used. As always when working with knit fabric, I used my walking foot to make sure that both layers of fabric were being fed through the machine without any stretching. I love how colourful the finished sweatshirt is. It’s a happy hoodie for sure!
The final touch is the flat cotton tape which is threaded through the buttonholes at either side of the neck. Don’t be like me and try to feed them through the machine after turning them under( I should know better), they are just too thick. Hand stitch or use another method of finishing.
Today I decided to accessorise with my silver acrylic button necklace. Cute.
It’s been lovely to collaborate with byGraziela on this post, and to celebrate byGraziela and myself are offering some goodies as part of a giveaway over on my Instagram account. You have the opportunity to win 1.5 metres of fabric from ByGraziela and an item of jewellery from my shop! The giveaway will run for three days from the date of this post, so don’t hang around and head on over to my Instagram to find out all the details of how you can enter! Good luck!
*EDIT* – This giveaway has now closed.
Take care, and I’ll be back soon,
Kathy x
Although this post is in collaboration with byGraziela, please know that as always, all opinions and thoughts are my own.
