It’s not the first time I’ve done the “upmarket sweatshirt” thing before – some of you may remember my Haute Hoodie back in 2008, but I think this new take has got even less in common with the usual sweatshirt idea than my earlier one!
The pattern here is Burda September 2012 #106 but it’s also available as purchased download pattern, too. I’m really liking that the English BurdaStyle.com site is finally getting the magazine patterns up more quickly these days, sometimes even before my print edition arrives!
I bought this turquoise sweatshirting back in 2010 from Fabric.com and had my parents bring it in their suitcases when they came for the wedding – it’s so difficult to find sweatshirting in non-traditional colours here in the UK! I’m not quite sure why it took me so long to sew this, as I love the colour and the sweatshirting is really nice quality, too.
Happily, I finished sewing this just before we left for our week’s holiday in the Loire Valley, so you get to see this top in a French pastoral setting rather than the usual London maritime one!
I just love the cut of this top – it’s so nicely fitted throughout the body, and the neckline and 3/4 length sleeves really are so chic. So like the title says, it really is a chic little sweatshirt! I’ve only had it for two weeks and already I’ve found myself reaching for it more often than I should. It’s really easy to wear and looks great just thrown on when it’s chilly.
I had already planned to sew this (and had even traced the pattern!) when I saw Amanda’s version of this top and it pushed me to finish it up extra quickly! I also see that Marina is planning to sew this as her September Couture Challenge so I’m very interested to hear what changes she makes to its construction.
The neckline is quite high in the front, but there’s a nice V-neck in the back, which is a great little detail!
Those curved front bust darts look intimidating on the pattern sheet but were actually very easy to sew – I made sure to thread trace the dart lines with some silk basting thread (which only took a few seconds), and I sewed these on the sewing machine instead of the overlocker (serger). There aren’t any darts in the back, but there’s lots of shaping in the centre back seam, so I wouldn’t recommend eliminating it to cut it on the fold, or you’ll get rid of the nice, flattering cut at the same time!
This pattern also has shoulder darts to add a but of shaping there, too. It’s important that you follow Burda’s construction steps with these, and sew the shoulder seam and dart in one go, or the effect won’t be nearly as nice. It means you can’t set the sleeves in flat, but the dart means you’re not really sewing it “in the round”, either, so it’s still pretty easy to achieve.
One strange thing I noticed is that the instructions call for batting in the neck band – seriously, wtf? I just shook my head and ignored that part. The neckband looks absolutely fine as-is, and I’m not sure why you’d want it to be puffy!
And finally, a “How I wore it” photo – to the Sunday market in Langeais, Loire Valley, France:
(The orange satchel bag is from ASOS, and I’m wearing my denim-look leggings throughout these photos, too. The baguettes are from a wonderful Artisanal boulangerie around the corner!)