Me Made Moose – Shirt

On Thursday it hit me! Planning your outfits and what you’re going to make is fine and all, but in the end you have to do some actual sewing. So I picked up a piece of fabric I’ve been wanting to turn into a sweater for a very long time and made it!

Pattern:

Megan Nielsen’s Briar Pattern (She’s also hosting a Briar sewalong right now)

Fabric:

A very soft, very cosy sweater knit with a ice-crystal and moose/reindeer print.

Size and alterations:

This knit was a lot stretchier than the previous one I used for this pattern so I decided to cut it a size smaller. But because I wanted to wear this with a t-shirt underneath I decided to keep the original size for the sleeves. I also opted for the longer version because I wasn’t completely happy with how the cropped version looked on me.

Level and special skills:

Beginner – This is the easiest pattern EVER (it was even easier with the extra explanation on the sewalong)

It does help if you’ve sewn with knits before but if you haven’t just go for it. If you’re scared, you can always take the Sewing with Knits-class on Craftsy.

Time to complete:

About 2,5 hours. It could have gone faster but I had a huge fight with my sewing machine and because it was such a soft knit, it was harder to press the seams so I took a bit longer.

Will I make it again:

If I still had the same fabric I would make a thousand more of these. I just want to live in this sweater. It’s so soft and cosy.

Will I make the pattern again: DEFINITELY! I wasn’t too happy with the cropped version, although I have worn it since and it’s starting to grow on me. But I really do love this longer version and I’m waiting for the pattern variations in the sewalong to see what comes up.

Likes and dislikes:

I dislike the fact that I had a fight with my sewing machine and broke 3 twin needles while doing the pocket and hemming. So my front hem is twin needle, my back hem is triple stretch stitch. But it’s not visible since it’s dark blue thread on a dark blue fabric.

The sleeves could be a bit tighter at the hem but this is just a very stretchy knit.

What I like: EVERYTHING ELSE! I FREAKING LOVE THIS SWEATER!

Overall conclusion:

This is definitely a winner. Too bad it’s so ‘wintery’ and it would be a bit weird to wear in Summer. I would make this again if I could, just to have two of them. In one of my previous posts I complained that my wardrobe was lacking some print and I think this is a very good step towards a more ‘printy’ wardrobe (Yes, I’m inventing words tonight).

Note: I had a fight with my sewing machine because it kept jamming while using my twin needle. It got so bad, I ruined 3 of them (went through my 2 spare needles). I thought it was my machine’s fault. But what I learned today while re-reading a ‘how to sew with stretch’ post on Megan’s blog is that you can separate your 2 threads right above your needle so they don’t get twisted and trow off the tension and break your needles. So partly my fault, partly machines fault as it came with a very shitty manual!