sweatshirt

Inspo: Sweatshirts

02/05/16

Do you ever get slightly obsessed with a particular garment? For me I never thought it would be the humble sweatshirt. But as soon as I made my black biker Linden I decided I needed more in my life. But a sweatshirt can be boring right? So I started looking around Pinterest for inspiration and ideas to elevate the simple sweatshirt into something a bit more edgy and interesting. Rabbit hole!! Hours lost! Â BUT just LOOK at this little feast of inspiration…. Linden inspo 1 linden inspo 2 linden inspo 3 linden inspo 4

linden inspo 5 linden inspo 6 Zips, quilting, applique, textural contrast, alternative fabrics and trims, length and proportions, neckline shapes….from the likes of Phillip Lim , Isabel Marant, Asos, Madewell and Garance Dore to name but a few. The only problem here is deciding which details to use! After all….I don’t need 18 sweatshirts in my wardrobe…or do I? (For original sources you can find all of these pins and moreÂ here…)

Sweatshirts are such a quick and satisfying make and there are a proliferation of sewing patterns out there;. You’d think a sweatshirt pattern is just a sweatshirt pattern. But there are subtle differences between all of these. Â Raglan, set in, or drop shoulder sleeves. Boxy, slim fit, loose fit or shaped in the body. Cropped, standard or longline.Â Here are just a few if you haven’t already jumped on this particular bandwagon… linden - sloane - fraser - sweatshirt patterns

Grainline’s Linden, Sloane by Named, Fraser by Sewaholic.

burda - capital chic - mcalls - sweatshirt sewing patterns

A longline plus size one from Burda, Capital Chic’s White Russian (I’ve made this. Nice pattern this, with quilting/embellishment elements included. Sally was way ahead of the curve on the quilted sweatshirt front). Mcalls M6992.

angela kane - 512 sweatshirt pattern

I also came across this one on Angela Kane’s site. Her site is a new discovery for me and it will probably turn out that I’ve been loving under a rock…but anyone familiar with her site and subscribed? Interested to hear from you on that one! I’m intrigued!

So, how about it? Feeling inspired to make a sweatshirt??

DIY, how to, jersey, knits, refashion, refashioning, repurposing, Restyles, Sewing, sweatshirt, Thrifting, Tips and Tricks, Tutorials, Uncategorized, Upcycling

DIY: Sweatshirt Market Tote Bag

02/23/15

This sweatshirt was no longer as slouchy as I would like (one too many tumbles in a too hot dryer…yep!) and was languishing unloved in my wardrobe. So I thought I’d turn it into a handy little market tote, (complete with reinforced handles) ready for my next shopping trip… here’s how….

Start by pressing and laying out flat with shoulderÂ seams lined up….

Cut off the sleeves using the seams as a guide…

Cut a big “U” shape out of the neckline…

Turn inside out, remove ribbing, sew opening closed (I curved my corners), then turn right side out again….

Now for the handles. Cut 2 x 7″ sections from the ribbing you just removed….

Fold in half lengthwise and serge (you could also zig zag or stretch stitch) all the way along the open edge. Look what it does! Cuurves into a perfect handle shape!

Feed one side of a handle through the tube…

Secure/stitch the 2 handle/strap pieces together…

Then slide the tube of ribbing over the join to hide it and distribute evenly. Repeat for both handles….

and you’re done!

The beauty of this is that it provides a little more structure and support to what would otherwise be rather stretchy handles, which has kinda what put me off the idea of T Shirt bags in the past. Plus sweatshirt fabric is sturdier to begin with. I think this bag could take a few fresh apples and bananas without breaking into a sweat (unintentional pun 😉

Do you use reuseable shoppers? Handmade or shop bought? My worst habit is actually remembering to take them with me to the shop…doh!

DIY, refashioning, Sewing, sweatshirt, Tutorials

DIY: Deconstructed Sweatshirt Refashion

04/22/13

If you follow my facebook page you’ll know that I found this thrifted (Â£1.50) sweatshirt a while ago. I’d been looking for a suitable specimen for ages so when I came across this little minty green number (don’t ask me what happened in the photo on the left. It’s definately not turquoise) I thought it would make the perfect piece for a chilly Spring (which let’s face it, we’re stuck with!); and the other day I finally got around to giving it a new look…

One of the things that appealed to me about trying out a sweatshirt refashion was that the fabric doesn’t fray. No need for seam finishes or any of that hemming malarkey. Yay for that! So I decided to take full advantage of this fabric’s properties, and see how little sewing it would take to transform it (Lazy? Moi? Occasionally ;). I went for a slightly “de-constructed” look and let me tell you…it took under 10 minutes of actual sewing….kaBOOOM! So if that complete lack of effort appeals to you and you want to give this a go…here’s what I did:

1) Cut off the neckband ribbing
2) Cut off the hemline ribbing
3) Cut off the sleeves, then put on inside out and pin to fit on both sides.
4) Stitch new side seams and cut away excess close to the stitching line

I cut a slightly scooped hem too:

1) Establish the centre front line and use a pin to mark where you want the highest point of your hem to be
2) Fold the sweatshirt in half along the centre front, matching up the side seams (if you have them, but mine didn’t) and the hem line.
3) Using a curve if you need to, mark your new scooped hemline and cut. Make sure the first and last 3-4mm at least, are at right angles to the Centre Front and Centre Back respectively. This makes for a smooth curve with no peaks or indents on the centre lines.

When I tried it on at this stage I didn’t like the sleeve length. The original garment had a dropped shoulder (ie where the armhole extends past the shoulder slightly). Looking at the original shoulder seam, it occurred to me, that it was kinda where I like my shorter kimono style sleeves to sit anyway. So I literally just cut along that seamline to remove the excess sleeve…

That left me with enough fabric to add a little patch pocket detail to the front. Leaving the edges unfinished tied it in with the overall finish….

So…5-10 minutes of cutting, 5 minutes of fitting, under 10 minutes of sewing makes…..YEP!!!….a 30 minute project! Whip one of these up while the dinners cooking OR while your other half is hogging the bathroom/you are on hold with some crappy call centre/your little one is deciding which DVD he wants on/ (Delete as appropriate/relevant. Does that give you an insight into my day. lol? Yep, ALL of these things took 30 mins! And we wonder where the day goes! 😉