I AM patterns Zebre

More of my make nine plans done. This is my 5th make – over halfway through my plans now!

The first shock when I got out this pattern to sew is that my measurements put me in the very top of the size range! The sizes for this company are not very inclusive at all, if I am the largest they cater for.  I actually cut out the size 42 (2 sizes down) as there seemed to be a lot of ease. I don’t know if that is design ease or wearing ease but the sweatshirt on the model doesn’t look that baggy.

I do have some drag lines around bust – so maybe I needed to do a FBA when i went down the sizes. However the boobs are somewhat inflated at the moment so we will see what it looks like when they settle down. And with this busy pattern the draglines are very hard to see anyway.

The second shock was how big the pattern pieces were for the sleeve. Originally I planned to do the sleeves in the print, but they would not fit! I had to cut the bodice in the print instead, which I think is less flattering for me. I still really love this sweatshirt and I feel that the print and the style combined makes me look like I have put effort in, even though I am just wearing jeans and a sweatshirt.

Pattern Review:

Description.  A relaxed sweatshirt with butterfly sleeves. 3 snap fasteners on the left shoulder.

Sizing: size 36-46. My measurements put me as a size 46. I cut out a size 42.

Did it look like the envelope drawing? Yes – though I did size down otherwise I think it would look much baggier than the picture.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes the instructions were really easy with clear diagrams. Some of the words were oddly translated but the meaning was always clear.

Likes/dislikes: I like the little bit of drama in the sleeves which elevates this basic to something a bit more.

Fabrics used: Liberty sweatshirting. The design is Hesketh and a navy blue sweatshirting. (Getting the links is dangerous I now want this one, and this one, and this one!)

Alterations/design changes? None at all.

Would I sew again? Yes, but without bothering with the snaps. – the neck line is plenty big enough without them.

Things I learnt:

How to insert snaps. Gosh this is a noisy activity! And I mangled quite a few. It is a bit of an art judging the pressure to use with the hammer.

The neckband was tricky to put on. The stretch didn’t seem to be quite enough. I tried to re-do it but it didn’t look any better so I left it.

And also scraping my hair into a ponytail isn’t my best look!

 How does this fit in as a Kibbe Soft Natural:

This sweatshirt is possibly too boxy as currently sewn to fall into Soft Natural. However it does have a soft feel and the sleeves are both full and flowing and tapered at the wrist. I am planning to nip the waist in, as mine reduces, which will improve the look.

The print definitely doesn’t fit in with the recommendations. In fact it is pretty much the opposite. I think it would have worked better as the sleeves as I originally planned, but I still enjoy wearing it.