Sunday, March 5, 2017

Vintage Fleece Toaster Sweater 1

All aboard the Toaster Sweater train! 


I'm running to catch this particular train before it leaves the station. It seems like everyone has made one of the Sew House Seven Toaster Sweaters in the past few months. Here's my go...


I opted for Toaster Sweater #1, the semi-cropped, turtle neck, raglan sleeve version. I love the deep hem and sleeve bands and boxy shape. I'm pretty sure I'll make Toaster Sweater #2 at some point, too!


My fabric is this vintage sweatshirt fleece in cranberry from Imagine Gnats, which is perfect for this pattern. The fleece is unbelievably thick and fluffy... slightly more Pepto Bismol colored than I expected from the color name, but still lovely!


I was inspired by the version Ariane from Textillia posted on Instagram and I straight up copied her. Sincerest form of flattery, etc.


This sweater is incredibly easy to sew... It took me slightly longer than a typical knit raglan, mostly because the seam allowances are 5/8". My serger didn't love cutting through multiple layers of the thick, fluffy fleece (I think I need to change the blades), so I sewed the whole sweater with my sewing machine set to zig zag, trimmed the seams by hand, and then finished them on the serger.


I used the twin needle to topstitch some of the seams, but lost interest part way through when the twin needle began skipping stitches. I may still go back and finish the rest at some point!


This is size XL. I like the fit, although I suppose I could use an FBA to get rid of that dartable fold at the armscye. I shortened the sleeve by 1" before cutting them out, as the cuffs are quite long. I could probably do with shortening the back length slightly or doing a swayback adjustment to keep it from getting caught up on my bum. That sounds like a lot of changes, but I'm not mad at this version at all. I feel like the cropped length and not-too-wide sleeves keep this thick, fluffy sweater from being too overwhelming.  It's so fluffy, I'm gonna die!


I'm pretty delighted with my Toaster Sweater! In this fleece, I'm sure to stay toasty warm (har har, I kill me!), but look cool.