Well, finally!

You probably don’t remember, but I had the fabric and pattern for this sweater on my desk way back in early October.

What a saga it has been.  After cutting out the pattern I went to sew it on my serger only to find one of the thread guides was broken.  The serger was in need of a tune-up anyways, so I brought it to the repair shop and asked about getting a part.

It took them many phone calls and several weeks to figure out that the machine was too old and they couldn’t get a part.  ====sigh====

They didn’t think the part could be repaired.  =====double sigh=====

Then my husband suggested I ask his brother, who can weld just about anything, to give it a try.  I did so.

It took him practically no time at all.  So much for the part not being repairable.  Grrr….

This was now shortly before Christmas, and I’d spent the money set aside for a tune-up.  Time to save up, again.  ===sigh===

Finally, a couple weeks ago I was able to bring the machine in to get the timing set up with the newly repaired part, and a tune-up.

I am very happy to report Ms. Serger is now home and running beautifully.  Together she and I whipped out this sweater in about three hours.

Now, what else can I serge?

Here’s the pattern front…

…and my pattern review.

Pattern Description: Very loose fitting jackets have stitched or serged seam and hem options. Included are Nancy Zieman’s time saving tips.

Pattern Sizing: XS-XXL Many other reviewers mentioned that this pattern runs quite large (it does say “very loose fitting” in the pattern description) so I made it two sizes smaller than my measurements called for.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yup, exactly. I made view D, with the asymmetrical hem and sewn-on ties.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Very, very easy. I liked how they were broken up into doable steps, and even had approximate times each step would take.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like the asymmetrical hem and the option to have it with or without the ties. I think I’d prefer to have a belt tie, though, rather than sewn on, so I could choose from day to day whether to wear it belted or not.

Fabric Used: A Hatchi Slub Sweater Knit from Fabric.com. This fabric is quite stretchy, so I’m sure that’s why going down two sizes worked out fine.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made: After making it I didn’t like the way the ties pulled the side seams so far to the front. I pinned out enough excess in the back to make the side seams fall at the sides and found I needed to take up 7 inches.

I fiddled with some clear elastic and decided that 5 inches would stretch just right to 12 inches, thus gathering in 7 inches. If you do this, you’ll want to mark your elastic (I used a Sharpie) at the beginning, end and mid point (0, 2.5 and 5 inches in my case.) Mark a straight line across the inside back of the garment, marking the beginning, end and mid point as well (12 inches long in my case, centered, of course.) Also, cut the elastic with an extra 2 inches at the beginning and an extra 1 inch at the end. These will be handles for you to hold on to while stretching as you sew.
I just zig-zagged the elastic in place, setting the stitch length to zero for a few stitches at the beginning and again at the end.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes! It’s very comfortable to wear and great for layering.

Conclusion: I used my serger for all of the seams, and double-needle topstitching for the hems. This made it a very quick project.

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