Isn't it funny how something simple and uncomplicated can make you so excited!?! I hope that isn't just a me thing. I really love this sweatshirt, and there isn't anything about it that screams extra special. The fact that Avery loves it certainly helps!
By the way, I'm pretty sure Avery has the slowest growing teeth of anyone I know. I'll miss the toothless grin when both of those awkward big teeth eventually come in, but gracious it has been forever!
I have to also mention that Avery was cautious about not disturbing the fresh snow of the front yard before we got our photos. Where do they learn this stuff?!? And, don't worry she had plenty of fun in the snow before and after our photo break. We only get snow once or twice a year, so we must take full advantage!!
More about the shirt. The pattern came from this Japanese pattern book I picked up on my trip to NYC before Christmas. Out of all of the Japanese pattern books I've used so far, this one is a bit trickier to translate. Thankfully I started with a very simple pattern!
Here is how the pattern is intended to look in both long-ish sleeves and short.
I naturally didn't leave things as is. Obviously I went with a thicker weight fabrics. The red is fleece and the great quilted heart sweatshirt fabric is from Joann's. (I had previously used the heart fabric here.) The sizing only goes up to 120, and Avery would normally be at least 130. Because I was sewing with a stretch fabric, I kept the width as is, but I lengthened the body and sleeves a good bit.
And, I added cuffs. The back of the pattern included a closure, but I omitted it because of the stretch of the fabric. I added a neckband instead.
I'm not usually one for hand stitching, but the heart fabric was calling for a little embellishment. First. I scorched the wrong side of the fabric when I tried to iron on a stabilizer. I'm testing out a patch of interfacing I applied (with a cooler iron and a press cloth) to see if it will last. Then, I tried a satin stitch to fill in the heart, and it turned out all kinds of wonky. A simple backstitch was the best I could get this go round. I'm glad I gave it a shot though.
Did you see what Mie has started over at Petit a Petit and Family? There is going to be a whole series on Sew Japan with Mie. If you like sewing from Japanese patterns, you will have to follow and sew along. I hope it will challenge me to pick up my Japanese books more often! I almost always love the results.