I think I might be the last person on earth to sew up the much-loved Grainline Studio Linden sweatshirt!
Lucky for me, I've made it just in time for the Linden Love Week hosted by Grainline Studio and Sew News (who is also hosting a Linden sewalong right now!).
This is a sample for a class I'm teaching in September at Nido. The Linden seems like a great pattern for a beginner/learn to sew knits class... a bit of practice with neck, hem and sleeve bands, but otherwise pretty much straight lines!
PS: check out my mini profile on the Nido blog!
PS: check out my mini profile on the Nido blog!
The fabric I used is a Robert Kaufman french terry that Nido carries. It's a medium- to heavy-weight athletic grey with lovely primary colored speckles throughout. The fabric is perfect for a traditional sweatshirt.
The only issue I ran into with the fabric is that there wasn't enough stretch in the neckband to use the pattern piece as is. Luckily, after a bit of fiddling around, I determined that a band about 90% of the neckline length worked well for this low-stretch fabric!
Speaking of necklines... for me, this neckline is a hair's breadth from being too wide. I might narrow it ever so slightly if I make it again! It doesn't look super wide in these photos, but when wearing it, I have that feeling like it might slip off one shoulder, Flashdance-style. I'm not worried about it, though, as I know I'm likely to wear it with a giant scarf most times, as I am wont to do once the weather gets chilly. I cannot tolerate a cold neck for some reason, and living in Southeast Asia has made me soft in the face of a cool breeze!
It seems like lots of Grainline patterns either have a really wide neckline or a really high neckline, nary a neckline in between. I think that just reflect's the designer's personal style.
It seems like lots of Grainline patterns either have a really wide neckline or a really high neckline, nary a neckline in between. I think that just reflect's the designer's personal style.
As you can see, the sleeves are a bit long, too. That's pretty typical for me with Grainline patterns, though, and an easy fix.
For my Linden, I went with a size 16, graded to 18 at the hip. I don't really like bottom bands on shirts, finding them too clingy on the belly and hip area, which is why I graded up. Seemed to work pretty well for me!
How about you? Have you sewed a Linden? Do you have a favorite raglan tee or sweatshirt?