Jalie 2449 - Brown Sweater / Butterick 3344 - Green Top

I'm realizing that I need to wear more layers.  I'm often cold and end up putting on a hoodie or fleece jacket over my other clothes.  This isn't so bad except that the end result doesn't always look that great.  So, instead, I should plan for layers and start out the day dressing that way.  Here's my first attempt at this plan.

I picked up this brown sweater knit recently at Fabricland.  It was very inexpensive and the label said it was a wool/poly blend.  The stretch is pretty minimal and it has a soft hand, but is a little irritating next to my skin.

Time for a haircut!  It's looking very...uh...asymmetrical here.

I've used Jalie 2449 before both for me and my daughter, but never in a sweater knit.  I used a size bigger than I needed according to the measurment chart and cut 1/2" seam allowances.  I think I should have gone up an additional size because of the minimal stretch.  The neckband in the pattern doesn't go around the back of the neck and I didn't like that when I used it before, so I changed it for this version.  I just cut one continuous neckband rather than two shorter, separate ones.  Then I trimmed off the back piece at the neck so that the shoulder seams were the same length.  It turned out great - I was surprised as it seemed too easy. 

Since the sweater knit was a little scratchy against my skin, I needed a top to wear under it - preferrably with sleeves.  Some color would be good too, since all that flat brown was a little underwhelming.  I bought this green jersey from Fabricland just for this.  I did check the stash.  Really...I did.  There weren't any pieces that would work.  This wasn't so inexpensive, but it was really great to sew with and is nice to wear - a great cotton/lycra blend.

The pattern, Butterick 3344, is out-of-print.  I've used it a few times before and I think it's a great pattern.  In particular, I like the high armholes.  I did have to draw a new neckline since I wanted it to show under the wrap top.   The neckline is bound.  I considered making the front doubled to have a neckline with no band or binding, but I thought that might overdo the warmth factor since the sweater also has a double front.  I haven't worn it yet - I will on Thursday morning when I go to Bible study and it's always so cold in church that I want to keep my coat on.  brrrrrr....

Next up:  more layers!  A top and jacket.