Tag Archives: Toastersweater#2

What I sewed in January – What I want to sew in February

Wow, I blinked a couple of times and January has passed. Even February is already flying away. Still, I wanted to share what I sewed in January and look ahead for my sewing plans for February.

January sewing

The sewing theme for this month seems to be gifts: for my husband, my family and my godson. You will find a roundup below.

  • Men’s Hudson Pant from True Bias

    Men's Hudson Pant
    Men’s Hudson Pant for my man
  • Finally, I sewed my beloved pants for my husband. It was already my fifth one so I had no trouble with the sewing. I made it in a real soft light-weight jersey I found at the Neuköllner Stoff in Berlin. I used some leftovers from my Wren dress for the pockets. The fit is spot on but my husband is not really in favour of smaller legs and the ankle cuffs, so he made his demands for the next one! But he sleeps in it.
  • The Seamwork Paxson

    Seamwork Paxson

  • The Seamwork Paxson was on my #2016MakeNine list.  Last December, I cut one out for my son but accidently sewed the back with the wrong side of the fabric to the good side of the fabric. That’s why it is still a WIP today. Luckily, I could use the same size of the pattern for my husband, so that was a win.
    Because the plan was to use this sweater together with the Hudson pant from above, I cut it in the same jersey. The sewing went easy—like all Seamwork patterns. Alas, the arms and the bodice were too short. Luckily it fits me. So now I have a new sweater and my husband has half a pyjama.
  • Pyjamas for my godson

    He got them as a new year’s present but I only managed to finish the pants. So he received a PIP—Present in Progress. I made them in this funky skeleton cotton that I also found at the Neuköllner Stoff in Berlin.

  • 7 Hudson Pants

    To celebrate New Year I made matching Hudson pants for my family and myself. How I did that I will tell in a future blog post.

    Sewing 7Hudson Pants
    Hudson Pant sewing line
  • Toaster Sweater#2

    January was also the first month of the SewMyStyle project. I finished the Toaster Sweater with ease last Thursday of January and I love it. You can read all about here.

  • Did I finish any WIP’s? No! Did I create new WIP’s? Yes, the pyjamas for my godson. So now the score is 6 WIP’s.

February Planning

What are my sewing plans for this very short month? And it seems the theme is secrecy.

  • First, of course, the 2017 Secret Valentine Exchange.
    I’ve selected my fabric and at the moment I’m totally absorbed in the making of my gift.
  • Second, I’m going to test a pattern for a dress. It’s the Daphne Day Dress from Sew This Pattern.
  • Third, the second project of Sew My Style: the Saunio Cardigan of  Named Clothing. This pattern is a little out of my comfort zone but Jessica—one of the SewMyStyle leaders—made already a very inspiring make.
  • Fourth, making a muslin of my first self-drafted pattern of a straight skirt—assignment for my pattern drafting class.
  • Fifth, the Moneta Party! I’m going to sew my first Moneta.
  • And last, I really would like to finish at least one of my WIP’s.

What are your sewing plans for February?

The Toaster Sweater#2 from Sew House Seven – SewMyStyle#1

 

I can’t believe it is nearly the end of January. Mostly because that means the first piece of the Project SewMyStyle has to be finished.
I already wrote about the Project SewMyStye in my previous post. The goal is to create a wardrobe capsule and to sew twelve garments in twelve months, together.
The January pattern is the Toaster Sweater#2 from Sew House Seven

Toaster Sweater#2
Everything is going to be alright – Toaster Sweater #2
Is this a quick sew?

I have a lot of jersey/tricot in my stash but none of it was sturdy enough for this pattern so I went to buy appropriate fabric. At 6 p.m. I bought the fabric at Soie Unique and at 11 p.m.  the sweater was finished—and I cooked a risotto in between. So yes, this is an incredibly quick sew.
Fabric
I went for a black double layered jersey with a lot of structure because I truly need some solids in my wardrobe. The fabric has a good stretch and is very easy to work with.

Toaster Sweater in the Blue Balloon room by Martin Creed.
The Toaster Sweater#2 pattern

Based on my bust measures I cut out a straight XL but in hindsight, I should have taken the L because my measures were closer to that size and it turned out a little too big.  I also added 5 cm to the length, not only because I am a #tallgirl but also because—although I like the cropped version a lot—I think for my figure a little bit of length is better.
The pattern is straight forward and beautiful in its simple lines. I really like the neckline with the included facing. It is also very helpful that the stretch direction is added on the pattern pieces.

Toaster Sweater #2
Look at that neckline!
The sewing process

The instructions in the booklet were very clear so I followed them step by step. A few days ago I read the sew along on the Sew House Seven website and remembered to mark the vent dots at the side seams and the neckline. This was very useful. I sewed the whole thing on my sewing machine, using a walking foot and the stretch stitch.
The only thing I had some problems with was putting in the sleeves. Although it was a flat insertion I really had to ease the sleeve caps and I hadn’t read this in any of the reviews. And here I think the pattern is too wide. Next time I will downsize the sleeve caps and the armscye.

Toastersweater version 2
I think the size is a little too big for me—especcialy around the shoulders and the arms.

With a little marking, the sewing of the side seams went very easy. I used my beloved fagot stitch to hem the seams.

Walking foot and marking the vent seams
Walking foot and marking the vent seams

The vent corners

Conclusion

I really like this sweater. The feel is very warm and cozy but the for the next one I probably go down one size. Also, I wouldn’t have sewed this sweater if not for Project SewMyStyle, so in that way, the year is off to a great start!

PS Most pictures were taken at the Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar.

Skyspace, James Turrel in Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar
Skyspace, James Turrel in Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar