Saturday, January 14, 2017

Talvikki, Take 1

I don't typically post works in progress here, opting to post only the finished products, but I thought this could benefit from a few more eyes!

This is my first take on the Named Clothing Talvikki Sweater. I fell in love with those amazing radiating neck darts straight away- so elegant and interesting!!


However, I think I was so enamored with the neck darts that I had blinders on concerning the other pattern details that had the potential to break the garment for me: the dropped shoulders, oversize sleeves, in particular. Oops!


Sure enough: I love the fit at the bust and neckline, including the darts, and even the fit in the body.


However, the sleeves and shoulders, in particular, don't work for me. The sleeves are enormous and the dropped shoulder is not doing me any favors... I feel like one of those inflatable waving arm things they put out in front of car dealerships. These details look great on others, but I'm just not comfortable with them!


The side slits are a teeny bit high for me, too. I'd like them to be closed at least to the top of my pants. That's an easy fix, though.


Here's how I am thinking I will fix this Talvikki: 1) unpick the sleeves and side seams, 2) recut the armscye and sleeves with a closer fitting pattern with regular (not dropped) shoulders and narrower sleeves. Maybe the Toaster Sweater? Do you think it will work?


Speaking of re-cutting: I had to recut the neck facing on my Talvikki after cutting the knit interfacing the wrong way, with the stretch going vertically instead of horizontally. The neckline wouldn't stretch enough for my gargantuan cranium (it's like Sputnik, spherical, but quite pointy in parts). Rather than cry myself to sleep on my huge pillow, I recut the facing with the stretch and it worked fine.



My fabric, by the way, is this awesome cotton/spandex lattice textured double knit in lemon-lime from Imagine Gnats. This stuff is great- I wish I had purchased more! It's soft, but with body to hold its shape. And I love the texture!


So, what say you, sewing friends. Thoughts on Talvikki? My plans to fix it to suit me?