Ma Moose: The Red, White, and Pink Tour

Welcome to my day on the Red, White, and Pink Tour hosted by Sewing by Ti. I love wearing reds and pinks, this is right up my alley!

I have been subscribing to Vinegar and Honey's Bee Box, which is a subscription that sends you a surprise two yard cut of fabric every month. I love surprises and I love fabric.

In December, the fabric sent out was ruby colored crushed velvet. I had been wanting to purchase velvet and jump on this fad, but I couldn't justify another fabric purchase over the holidays. Especially for a fabric which might not be in style soon.

Thankfully, Vinegar and Honey read my mind and sent out this stretch velvet. And now that I have played with it, I'm regretting not buying more. I love soft textures, comfortable fabrics, but still looking like I'm put together and this fabric accomplishes all of those things. I'm hoping this fad sticks around for a little while!

I knew I wanted something casual, because I don't have too many occasions to wear anything fancy. I knew the stretch velvet could potentially make most dress patterns look "extra" and I just wouldn't have many opportunities to wear it. So I decided to make an every day sweater.

The Sloane Sweater by Love Notions* was perfect for what I had in mind. It turned out exactly how I hoped it would. (*affiliate link)

The only change I made to the pattern was adding three inches in length. The pattern is drafted for a height of 5' 5" and is meant to be shirt length. I am 5' 7 and like my shirts to be a little longer, in between shirt and tunic length is an ideal "shirt" length for me. My extra length is all in my torso, I usually have to take length off for pants. Three extra inches was perfect for me.

I know that some people who are dedicated to sewing hate the term "whipped something up." I get it. It can seem like a slap in the face to the time, effort, and skill that goes into making something. But the Sloane Sweater is so fast that I do feel like I was able to just "whip this up."

I sewed view B of the pattern, which is finished with a band and is a more boxy style. View A has a more defined waist and is finished with a curved hem. I love both styles, but I wasn't sure if a hem would cause me problems on the stretch velvet. The bonus is that since the sleeves are finished with a cuff as well, there is no hemming at all with view B. It really is a very fast sew.

The fabric did roll, which was manageable for the wide bands and cuffs, but I was worried about the neckline. I did something new (to me) to tackle this problem. After cutting out my neckband, sewing the short ends together, and folding it, I simply ran a zig zag stitch over the raw edges before attaching it to my neckline. It made sewing the neckline extremely manageable. I didn't have to worry about rolling or edges that wanted to slip out of my seam.

I was also worried this fabric might not be the best idea for a neckline band, but it actually turned out great!

I just love when a project I have in mind comes out exactly like I had envisioned it AND when it goes together without any hiccups. It's safe to say that doesn't always happen. :)