I've been getting Colette's Seamwork magazine since the beginning. I mean, I am nothing but a shameless pattern hoarder, and a subscription to this digital magazine comes with 2 patterns a month. 1 + 1 = 2.
Anyway, I haven't jumped on any of the Seamwork patterns yet. I printed out Oslo, but then quickly realized it had no practical purpose in my current life in Bangkok, so I didn't actually put scissor to fabric. Maybe when I move to a place with falls and winters, yes, but in the meantime, no. I'm intrigued by some of the other patterns, including Osaka, Florence and Adelaide, but just haven't pulled the trigger yet.
After making a few high-waisted skirts and realizing how well they go with my beloved Bluegingerdoll Bonnie cropped sweater, I was curious to try the Seamwork Astoria cropped sweater pattern to see how it compared. Figuring I could kill two birds with one stone (namely, satisfy my curiosity and enter the #seamworkgiveaway), I whipped one up.
I'm pretty happy with the Astoria pattern. I think it's as advertised: a one hour pattern. Especially if you use a solid color fabric, this thing is super quick to cut and sew. I literally sewed this thing in 5 or 6 (I lost track) 9-minute sessions, in between putting batches of cookies for a colleague's going away party into the oven. I probably could have cut that time down even further if I had drafted some bands for the sleeves so I could serge them on rather than thread my regular machine with the twin needle for just to hem them.
I didn't edgestitch/topstitch the neckline as recommended in the instructions because I thought it would mess with the sleek lines. Upon further inspection, I noticed that the neckline is not topstitched in any of the Astoria sample photos... hmmm...
Generally, I like the Astoria, but relative to the Bonnie, the Astoria fit is not quite as good. I think I need to lose a bit of bodice length to avoid some bunching in the back (a significant amount- just realizing I forgot to take a photo of the back) and front (less so). I also feel like the bodice is a bit wide across the upper bust? Maybe something else... anyone have any fitting tips based on the armpit wrinkles you see below?
My fabric is some magenta ponte from Girl Charlee, purchased, somewhat ironically, with winnings from the Bonnie sewalong. It's soft and nice, with a bit of a sheen.
Have you made Astoria yet? Planning on it? Are you on the cropped sweater/jumper bandwagon? Cropping all the things or sticking to full length tops?
