Crafty Bloggers Club - Vicky's Cosy Jersey Tunic
This week's Crafty Bloggers Club post is from Vicky, you can find more of her makes on Instagram @sewlittlesparrow and on her blog sewlittlesparrow.com
Hi Folks and thanks for stopping by to read my latest post for The Crafty Sew & So blog. Not sure if I’m sad to say this or not but summer makes are well and truly over for another year but that means sewing snuggly winter jumpers and this make is definitely one of those.
When the ladies released their My Handmade Wardrobe patterns the pattern that I was drawn to was the Cosy Jersey Dress & Tunic, but with a list of patterns as long as my arm I just didn’t manage to get round to adding it to my collection last winter. But while attending the shops 4th birthday party back in September I had spotted a beautiful speckled fleece backed jersey that I thought would be a perfect match for this pattern.
The pattern comes with three different options of a long sleeved tunic with pockets, a short sleeved dress with pockets (you could obviously make the dress long sleeved too) and a short sleeved dress with a tie belt feature. Due to the fabric being reasonably think and fleecy I chose to go for the tunic as it was probably slightly on the thick side for the dress. I have to say I absolutely love the design of this tunic as there’s some really lovely features. There’s a front and back panel with seams running from the shoulder seam down to the hem. The back is lower than the front and sits over the bum, so perfect to wear over leggings or skinny jeans.
The side panels then feature fantastically large pockets that wrap from the front panel round to the back and down to the hem. They can definitely fit a fair bit in them!
The tunic is pretty relaxed and I fell into a medium for my bust and waist but a large at the hip, although looking at the finished measurements I could have cut a straight medium. But I do what I always do and worry it’s going to be too small. So I added a bit to the width around the bum and I sewed up with a 1/4 inch seam instead of the 5/8th advised in the pattern.
The top ended up coming out a little bit big around the shoulders/arms so I re-sewed the seams but keeping a bit of extra width at the bum. Next time I will just go for a straight medium & the 5/8th seam allowance (I never learn!).
Another feature I really like is the v-neck as most of my jumpers are the standard round crew neck. The neck is finished with a front and back facing. I did contemplate using a different weight jersey as I thought the fleeced back fabric may be a little too thick but I went with it in the end and it turned out perfect. It was a little spongy and won’t sit perfectly flat so I ended up topstitching the facing down which is what the pattern suggests for a thicker fabric. I used a contrasting colour to make a feature of it.
If I’m honest I didn’t really read the instructions much as I was sewing as the pattern was really easy to put together and came together really quickly. But the booklet is full of loads of tips and pictures for every step. I would agree that it’s a beginner friendly pattern, particularly if sewing up in a more stable jersey.
Due to how the pattern is constructed with panels it’s perfect for colour blocking. The samples in the pattern pictures show a plain dress, a dress with different coloured side panels and the tunic is made with a contrasting hem band, pockets and cuffs. I used some off cuts of pink french terry I had left over in my stash for the cuffs. I did contemplate mixing up the pockets and hem band too but decided to keep these in the main fabric. But you could definitely go to town mixing up different colours or prints, so a perfect stash buster too.
Fabric wise, it is so soft and snuggly. Before sewing up the jumper I was struck down with a nasty cold and at one point I nearly used the fabric as a blanket! It’s a cross between a grey and a dusky purple background with loads of little specs of colour running through it.
Normally when I use my overlocker I have a real pet hate if my thread doesn’t match but with this make I went multi-coloured. I picked out a pink, purple, green and yellow thread. I know it’s only me that will see it but that’s the beauty of making things yourself you can add little touches to make it different. I love how it looks on the inside.
The only downside I have with the fabric is if you wear it over a black vest make sure you have a de-fluffer at hand!
So definitely check this pattern out it. It’s a bargain to as you could have so many different versions. I will definitely be making more and am thinking of giving the dress version a go next with some french terry I’ve got in the stash. I also want to make the tie belt version in black, OK so that may sound boring but think it will be such an easy dress to throw on in summer or winter.
Thanks for reading and happy sewing
Vicky @sewlittlesparrow
P.s. excuse the mark on the photos of me wearing it! Just as I was about to do some pictures my dog decided to sit on me and clean his paws leaving a lovely wet patch!!!
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“Crafty Bloggers Club Contributors are given products and materials to test from Crafty Sew&So. We hope you enjoy their honest and impartial reviews of the products. All opinions are their own.”