Having had a missing sewjo for most of the early part of this year, lockdown has me back in the sewing room. Sewing up masks for my immediate family got me back at the machine and it went from there.
Whilst I was making an Elliot sweater for myself, I made a second Heidi and Finn Cowl Neck Sweater for Summer from the leftovers.
To make it work I had to add a back seam and a second seam to the neck band. I didn’t think the neck band through at all or I’d have matched it to the shoulder seams. As it is there’s now a seam to front and back. Summer doesn’t mind that at all, so I don’t think I will either. It’s more a note to future me to think before cutting.
I have to tell you that this fabric is an absolute pig to sew! It’s a deep stash poly jersey that I bought about 4 years ago from Guthrie and Ghani on a birthday trip to Birmingham.
I had initially earmarked it for a jacket but decided it was too drapey, and the stripes to finicky for that, so sweaters it became.
And I was right about those white stripes! They are raised and so tricky to match because of that. If you pin them they shift. If you pin them twice, they shift. I ended up sticking them in place with Wonder Tape, pinning, tacking them in place and then sewing. And still some of them shifted. And again…I don’t really care.
I am so hard on myself when sewing if the finished product is not completely perfect. And that perfectionism has been keeping me away from the sewing machine.
I am much less critical of the fit and finish of ready to wear in the price range I can afford. So I’m cutting myself a wee bit of slack. If a man on a galloping horse wouldn’t notice, I’m calling it done!
So this is a perfectly imperfect sweater that my tweenage daughter requested and is happy to wear. Win!
Apologies for the paucity of photos in this post. I’m working from my iPad whilst my Mac awaits a visit to the Apple shop when it reopens. It’s playing shenanigans with the photos. I’ll try and master it in time for the next post!
We’re our own worse critics aren’t we? I must admit though that I am much more critical of RTW clothes than I used to be as I notice things like mismatched patterns and dodgy seams these days and it’s not always the stuff from the cheaper end of the market that are at fault.
This cowl neck sweater looks really cosy though and I loved the plain navy version too.
We are indeed!
I’m also more critical of RTW these days. Possibly in direct inversion to being less so with hand made.
I’m always appalled at the poor workmanship on some very high end and very speedy garments. Not good.
This sweater pattern is a good one!
The thing that amazes me is that, as long as the fit is right, my wonky sewing only bothers me at first. I’m all traumatized and then, once I get over myself, the garment often gets a lot of wear during which I never think of the badness again! On occasion I’ve had to look at the interior of my RTW clothes. Some are horrifyingly messy inside – way more messy than they should be given what I paid. Especially jeans! I get where you’re coming from – I struggle too. But it’s liberating to realize that something that’s not objectively perfect cans still be so wearable and attractive. I’ve really had to come to terms with imperfection writ large, over these last few years. Oh, who am I kidding, it’s been an issue forever. Since the beginning of my consciousness, I’ve been the kind of person who sees the decay in everything from the moment the clock starts ticking. And it’s such a sad way to expend my energy! I remember trying to explain this to my friends as a teenager and they thought I was nuts. There must be something about sewing and knitting that explores the perfectionism we are cursed with. And I do think it’s a curse (even as I continue to strive, though the urge diminishes with the learned-experience that it is unachievable). Those who feel good about what they do and what they make are very blessed – and sensible 🙂
“…my wonky sewing only bothers me at first.” This is so true. I’m still wearing stuff that I wasn’t particularly pleased with at first, but which comes out of the wardrobe time after time.
Perfectionism is such a tiring curse. And such a waste. Especially as at the moment I don’t have the time resources to enable me to fully embrace upskilling to the level that would (allegedly) make me happy. We would never be so brutal with a friend. I’m not entirely sure why we do it to ourselves!
We are very picky perfectionists, we crafters. But as my father in law always used to say about any small fault “a blind man would be pleased to see it”!
The top looks lovely on Summer, perfect casual wear xx
You father in law was very wise!
Summer loves this pattern. I think this is the 5th time I’ve made it for her. Highly recommend for your small peeps.