FINISHED! The Undercover Sweater

Back in April, I was admiring on instagram some fabulous fabric picked up by Melanie (Miss Piggy Eats) at the Fabric Cave, when she so kindly said that she would send me her leftovers. I couldn't believe my luck. Stripes and in a fabulous bright mustard shade! Melanie had made up a fab Mandy Tee and fortunately had quite a bit left over.  I had it washed and ready to sew within a nano second of receiving it. My idea was to sew up a coco using this as an inspiration.

But things didn't really go to plan. The grain was all over the place on this fabric so while it felt lovely and the yellow stripe was divine, I struggled to get it on grain and on stripe. Really struggled. I cut the front and back of the Coco out only to find that I had cut it so badly that it was almost unusable. So there the fabric sat. Squished into a bag in the stash cupboard and me feeling guilty that I had so generously been gifted this fabric and I hadn't done anything with it, or worse probably ruining it.
I bought some flower knit the other week at Addicted to Fabric and thought that maybe I could salvage the fabric combining the two knits into a Papercut Patterns Undercover Sweater (sans hoodie).  I'm all about the designer Stella Jean at the moment and thought it could work. The idea was generally dissed on instagram (though I still think it can work) so again the fabric sat.

Fast forward to yesterday, where I finally bought the Undercover pattern (on PDF thank you!) and while waiting for some pumpkin soup to cook stuck the pieces together.  Come the first of July, I and all the other staff at my level in my Department are being made 'potentially excess' and we all have to apply for our jobs (aka: a Spill and Fill). The thought of having to look at my CV and write an application, set procrastination into top gear and I pulled out the yellow stripe to see just how much I had left now that I had the pattern taped and cut.

Would you believe that through cutting out the cropped version in XS I was able to fit all the pieces onto the left over fabric (thank you again Mel for your generosity) and cut the sleeves out of the previous Coco front and back.
Re the grain, I didn't even worry about it this time. For my own sanity. It was just too hard and so my focus was to try and match the stripes as best as I could and see how the fabric fell afterwards. This took a lot of angst out of the make.

I have been racking my brain and I think this is the first raglan sweater (or tee) that I have had in a veeeerrry long time. Like ever. I always thought that I looked better with a boat tee or high neck, but actually I don't mind this on me. The cute fabric helps.  Ben thinks that the crop is too short but with the right pants I think it is ok, though I might make it a tad longer next time.  I love the super long cuffs, especially in this wintery weather.  The pattern was lovely to put together and easily came together in a night. The fit is relaxed and the off grain doesn't seem to make a material difference to the drape. 
Thanks again Melanie for the fabric! I hope I've done it justice. One thing is for sure it will get a lot of wear! 

35 comments:

  1. I love it! It is the perfect length with those jeans. Bummer about your job - do you work for government? Seems to be a recurring theme within government. At least you have sewing to cheer you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very cute top. The length looks good with those jeans and love the colour.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh you look cold in your top pic! It's very cute and cheery and I think the length works perfectly on you. Great save and so sweet of miss piggy - she's a sweet lady!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Very cool sweatshirt! It looks so comfy but manages to look very stylish at the same time. Win! And, I like the length. It steps up the cool-factor.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ooh I love this stripe on you! So glad you could fix it/work out a pattern that could ignore the grain issues.


    Have been the biggest mustard/curry/gold fan forever but alas it just makes me look ... yellow. On you however!! Fabbo!


    (Bummer about the CVing too - seems to be the way the APS is run these days, but that still doesn't make it right. Or very nice. Good luck xxx)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Love those stripes. That colour is awesome. I feel your pain with off grain stripes and lines, nothing worse!

    ReplyDelete
  7. So cute kirsty!!! It's always a bummer when a fabric I love isn't being cooperative. Great save though!!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Brilliant save! A great top. I love the fabric too. Sorry to hear about your job. I went through something similar last summer. Hope it all works out for you.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yay that's so great you managed to save the fabric, and into such a cute top! I love the raglan sleeves & the style & colour look great on you! I've tried to comment on your last few posts but keep getting problems with disqus - hopefully this works.

    ReplyDelete
  10. It looks adorable! Such a great stripe despite the wonky grain fabric.

    I hope everything works out at work for you, it's a scary time for lots of people with such job uncertainty about. Good Luck.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This looks so smart! I really like the way the stripes fall around the neckline. And thanks for the link to Stella Jean - what fabulous clothes! I love all the wax fabric.
    The work situations sounds grim, I hope it settles down soon. In the meantime, thanks goodness for sewing procrastination.

    ReplyDelete
  12. It is a super cute sweater and that was a great fabric rescue story!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks Erin. I can't believe I managed to rescue it!

    ReplyDelete
  14. The fall of the stripes was a happy accident! Yes, how cool is the combo of wax fabrics by Stella Jean! Work will improve - but yes, thank goodness for sewing :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. It was definitely a stripe worth fighting for.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I have found that too with disqus. Such a pain. I think this fabric looks cuter in this design than it might have in my original idea.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Sorry to hear you also had to go through it. Hope all is ok with you. Thanks for your comments on the top. It was a lucky save.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks Merche. Hard to believe I don't have a raglan top in my wardrobe til now !

    ReplyDelete
  19. Me too - I am much more a stripey girl and now I can add these cool yellow ones to my list of stripey garments.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks Margo. I'm just so relieved I saved it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oh, there is nothing worse.. I think it's why I avoid knit fabric so much because the grain can be a problem.

    ReplyDelete
  22. I never would have thought that yellow mustard would have worked and me and my hair, but it seems to! Oh yes, the APS... in a few years they will be hiring us all back :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thanks! I agree that the shorter length works better on the top. thanks too for your honest feedback on instagram - it all worked out well in the end.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I was cold - but playing it up as well in the name of fashion photograhy! Miss Piggy is super generous and sweet:)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Thanks Rachel! Yes, for the Government. It's happening all through Canberra at the moment, but c'est la vie. And yes, we have sewing to distract.

    ReplyDelete
  26. I like :) I think I might have to revist the undercover hood and turn it into a raglan top too. Love the yellow on you!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Highly recommend the sweater - super quick make!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. I think the length is really nice - great for layering. Hope the job situation works out ok - I would open a lovely little fabric shop with you if I wasn't on the other side of the world! :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. Totes crushing hard on this, Kirsty! Now I want the undercover hoodie... But I need to make up the circle cardi and enisis first. Noooo!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Mustard stripes, how delightful! I love that length - it's one of my favorites, and I'll bet it would also pair wonderfully with some of your higher-waisted skirts. And I'll be thinking about you and your job - I've been there before.

    ReplyDelete
  31. How much fun would we have with a little fabric shop! ah, we can dream .

    ReplyDelete
  32. Get on board this! It will look gorgeous under your cape!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Thanks Morgan. The sleeves on this are a bit big but I think this style could definitely work well with skirts. I'll have to make up some more. Aaargh, thanks for the wishes on the job stuff. xx

    ReplyDelete
  34. Mustard strips don't work for everyone, but your sweater is perfect!

    ReplyDelete