We have had fun over the past few weeks creating cozy new duds with a group of coordinating fabrics from Style Maker Fabrics. Back in the fall Rae ordered a cabled sweater knit and two rayons in closely related colors with her birthday discount from Style Maker. Later, Carrie succumbed to an autumnal plaid flannel she’d been admiring for some time. When we brought them all together, it was clear that we had a really nice group to share!
The cozy cotton flannel grid in teal was hefty, so making a Tabula Rasa Jacket with Shirt Variation became the obvious choice. Carrie carefully laid out the Tabula Rasa back and Shirt Variation front to line up the plaid, but cut the side panels on the bias. The four side seams created by Tabula Rasa Jacket‘s square armhole construction make it very challenging to match a plaid all the way around the garment; besides, the diagonal lines of the plaid on the bias are more visually interesting!
After looking at the flannel together with Rae’s fabrics, she decided to use the textured Atelier Brunette dobby rayon in autumn posey as an accent with her shirt; the colors were a great match and it was a better weight to hang with the flannel. Rae wisely advised that it would be smart to use the rayon for the shirt facings which would be less bulky than two layers of flannel. Of course that lead to a contrasting rayon collar, to match the facings, and cuffs, to carry the rayon print to another place on the shirt. The bias cut flannel plaid is carried to the under collar and cuff facings.
Carrie saved the last design detail decision until after the Shirt Jacket was finished. She wanted to add patch pockets but wasn’t sure about the pockets’ size, location, or whether they should be cut on the bias or to match the plaid. In the end, the size and orientation choices were governed by what scraps were left from which to cut the pockets, and that lead to the decision to place them squarely on the front, not straddling the side seam. The patch pockets are lined with rayon dobby. The faux leather buttons closing the front came from Carrie’s stash; they feel appropriate for a shirt jacket, although too big for a finer shirt, and are the perfect color. There were not enough of these buttons to use on the cuffs so, after digging through Rae’s stash, Carrie settled on some smaller brown plastic shank buttons that almost match.
Rae’s sweater set started out with the chunky sweater fabric , purchased with her birthday coupon. The two rayons were not necessarily a perfect match but the three fabrics share many colors with some tonal differences. Rae had been wanting to make a sweater with some soft ruffles around the edges using the Tailored Cardigan version of Twin Set Variations for Tabula Rasa Knits.
The pattern was created using her beloved Tailored Cardigan pattern but adding the templates for the waterfall cardigan hemline for a high low hem. She laid out the pattern then cut some pieces around the edges to use for sample making.
In the Diary of a Sewing Fanatic Blog, Carolyn recently wrote about trying to sew with this thick, drapey sweater knit. Thanks to those observations, Rae made a bunch of samples to test the ruffly design ideas on the prewashed chunks of extra fabric and solicited comments on Instagram and Facebook to get opinions from our readers. The samples convinced Rae to use all three fabrics. The darker print, Atelier Brunette Moonstone Green, was destined for the ruffles and the tank top underneath. The lighter colored print, that Carrie used in her shirt, was used to bind the raw edges so the knit never had to be doubled. A dark floral section of the lighter print was fussy cut to cover the button for the neck closure.
The resulting sweater set is so fun and, since we continue to have cold temperatures and icy conditions, Rae says it has really perked up her tired wardrobe of sweater options.
Happy Sewing, Rae and Carrie
