So I haven’t posted since May…but is that right? Have I not sewn a garment since May?? I have done some other sewing, including another dress for my daughter. I will share it soon! Anyways, I finally have a new finish: the Nico Pullover a pattern by Summerhaus.
How This Top All Came To Be When I Was Afraid Of Knits
For a while now I’ve ignored patterns that are meant for knit fabric. I hadn’t tried sewing with them but heard that they’re frustrating and when I’m already getting frustrated with wovens why make things even harder on myself? So, what changed? There was a perfect storm here of supporting a good cause, getting a deal on a pattern that intrigued me, getting a deal on fabric, and finally wanting to stretch my skills a little and try new things.
In July Summerhaus had a pattern sale with profits benefiting Palestine so I bought her Poppy top and Nico Pullover patterns. While the Nico is sewn with a knit I really fell in love with the shape of the garment, knowing someday I would get over it and be brave enough to try working with a knit fabric.
In October I had a great thrift haul at Saver’s and found a good sized piece of blue sweatshirt material for $3.99, plus I had a $15 off $40 coupon to use. I didn’t have a tape measure with me (adding this to my purse now for future thrifting!) but it looked like enough for a top. And it was! I failed to look for any stretchy fabric at the last Textile Center garage sale in September so I was so happy that I scored this sweatshirt fleece. Finding exactly what I need at a thrift store is the biggest thrill (and don’t get me started on the brand new 125 count box of 3 gallon compost bags I got for a fraction of the actual retail value, I’m still riding that high too).
I’m also way WAY more likely to dive into a project if I have a secondhand material to work with. The stakes are SO LOW so if it doesn’t work out as intended I didn’t lose much money, only time and effort but I would gain ~knowledge.~ This thrifted fleece was exactly what I needed to give sewing with knits a first try. Time to face my fear and take the plunge!
The Pattern
The Nico pullover is intended to be a boxy sweatshirt. It comes in two views, long sleeved and short sleeved. You can make it with a slightly curved hem or there are cut lines on the pattern for straightening it out. I think I had enough fabric to make a long sleeved version but decided I’d do the short sleeved version for two reasons: it’s quicker and I didn’t have any short sleeved sweatshirts in my closet. I also opted to keep the hem curved.
For the Nico you are only cutting out 5 pieces: a front, a back, the sleeves and the collar. To determine which collar pattern piece to use you have to figure out the stretch percentage of your fabric. There’s a handy chart in the instructions. If I had purchased this fabric online it likely would’ve had the stretch percentage listed but obviously there wasn’t any of this info on the Saver’s price tag 😆. This thrifted fleece was hardly stretchy and I determined the stretch percentage to be 20%.
This pattern is a quick sew! If you are an experienced sewist and especially experienced with knits you can knock this out in two hours. You don’t have to finish seams, there aren’t many pieces to sew, there’s minimal topstitching. Sewing with a knit was a fun challenge and it wasn’t as daunting as I made it out to be—perfect for helping me get back into garment sewing after a long break!
Sewing With A Knit
Having never sewn with a knit before I wasn’t even sure if I had the right needles. Thankfully after searching my stash I had a ballpoint needle and it worked great. I really couldn’t believe my luck while sewing this garment. It felt…easy?? I almost sewed this on my old but new-to-me serger (thanks auntie S!) but didn’t for 4 reasons:
- I haven’t ever changed the needles on that thing (ope),
- wasn’t sure if I could just use Schmetz needles in there,
- really didn’t feel up for retheading it,
- and I’m not that great at using it still.
Sewing it on my domestic machine it was!
Everything really went well except for the collar and hem (more on that below). I got two puckers sewing it in and I still haven’t fixed it. I think I will…eventually. When I showed the almost finished product to the gal working at Sew Inviting she was so sweet and was like “the puckers just look like a design feature” (bless her). I also used a cute Cotton and Ochre sewing label I picked up at the equally cute Open Studio Sewing shop this summer but I totally put it in wrong. I’m VERY happy, however, that I have a label in as it’s not super obvious which is the front and which is the back, even if it doesn’t look the nicest!
Twin Needle Time!
The Nico pullover is the first pattern I’ve made that suggests sewing with a twin needle. My machine came with one when I bought it a year ago and now I finally got to use one! I wasn’t sure if the one I had was good for stretch so I went ahead and bought a new twin needle. With my track record of breaking needles lately I figured having an extra would be a good idea anyways.
Thank god for Babylock’s YouTube videos, they are short and sweet and save me from having to go hunting in my manual for what I need to learn (but OK the manual comes in handy too). I probably would not have thought to “tell” my machine that I was using a twin needle had I not watched that video. Threading the twin needle was a breeze too.
I tested out using the twin needle on some of the scraps and the stitching looked a little loose so for the first time ever with my machine I changed the tension. I went from a 4 up to a 6. It looks great! It’s a little tricky sewing the hem with a twin needle as there are a few places I didn’t catch the hem. You have to sew it from the front! I’m leaving it for now and hoping for the best that the stitches hold through multiple wears and washes.
Project Cost Breakdown
- Pattern: $12.80 on sale
- Fabric: $2.50 (ish)
- Label: $1.25 (A pack of 8 cost $10)
- New twin needle: $9.50
- Thread: I used some navy blue cotton Guttermann in my stash but ran out. A new spool cost me $3.50 from Sew Inviting (where I also got my stretch twin needle)
I printed the pattern at home and tiled it together but I’m not going to breaking down that cost. Overall I’m going to say this sweatshirt tee cost me roughly $17.00. Woo hoo!
Final Thoughts
This sweatshirt tee is verrrry boxy. It’s comfy but I felt a little unsure about it when I finished it. I asked a few friends what they thought and the positive feedback gave me the push I needed to give it a go wearing it. I have since worn it several times now and I do like it! I finished this make in November before it got frigid (hi from a 6°F early December day). I took photos on a warm but not too warm sunny day and it was actually pretty perfect to wear on its own then. Lately, however, I have been layering long sleeved turtlenecks underneath it.
If I make another sweatshirt I’d like to go down a size or even two more sizes, and I’d like to make the long sleeved version. I measured at a size 10 but went down one size to a size 8. A tee made out of jersey in this size would feel too big I think. I didn’t make any mods (it’s drafted for someone 5’ 5,” which is how tall I am) and I do like the cropped but not too cropped length. If I hold my arms straight out you can see straight in the sleeve to my bra which I don’t love; maybe going down a few sizes would fix that.
Lastly the instructions for this pattern are really great. They were clear and easy to follow as a new-to-knits sewist. Maybe it was the low stretch percentage of the material, but if you are like me and scared of knits, give it a try with sweatshirt fleece. It was easy and fun! And if you’re looking for a relaxed sweatshirt or tee or a quick sew to help get you back into the sewing groove I really can’t recommend this pattern enough!
Thanks for reading! xx
A Perfect Sandwich 