Perfect spring layer

I knew I wanted to make a ‘sweatshirt style’ top with this gorgeous cotton/linen jacquard fabric. In retrospect, perhaps the middle of a pandemic wasn’t the ideal time to be trying to source matching ribbing for a woven fabric when the only shopping options are online – it’s amazing how many variants the word ‘coral’ covers! In the end it was third time lucky and I’m pretty happy with how nicely the ribbing coordinates.

Then it was down to choosing a pattern. I spent ages mulling over different possibilities as I wanted to make the most of the lovely material. I’d seen some great versions of the High Cuff Sweater online, with its lovely raised cuffing in the back, and in the end the fact that it has bust darts for some shaping swung it.

The pattern and instructions are great – when sewing I was a bit taken aback about how much stretch there is in the rib/cuffs etc but thanks to loads of notches on the pattern pieces it was super easy to assemble and the end result is fab. I knew there’d be plenty of ease in the style and whilst I might try a size down next time (there definitely will be a next time!) I love the comfortable ease in the wearing. It’s spot on for this time of year when all you want is a light layer with a little bit of warmth.

Would definitely recommend this as a quick and satisfying make; love the combination of sweatshirt styling with a woven fabric as it opens the door to so many possibilities. There will be more of these!