Jumpers - Burdastyle 02/2016 #121, Named Talvikki and Vogue 8962

As we approached the end of winter in Perth, I was all ready to begin my summer sewing. However, the cold weather dragged on and on through spring this year, so I decided to make just one four more jumpers to wear. I'm so pleased I did, these have been worn constantly over the last few weeks.

First up, this one from the February 2016 issue of Burdastyle magazine. This is the 'High Collar Sweatshirt', No. 121. I loved this design in the magazine and was so keen to make it, when I rediscovered it recently, that I did so despite the fact that I didn't have the collar zips. I assume the zips are there as a practical and decorative feature. Luckily, I can easily get the jumper on and off without having the zips there.

Burdastyle 02/2016 #121

I used oatmeal marle fleece fabric from Fashion Fabrics Club that has been in my fleece drawer for quite some time. It's lovely and cosy. The cord for the drawstring was saved from a boutique paper bag. I always save the cord handles from bags and knew I'd find a use for them one day!

Apart from omitting the zips, the only change I made was to lengthen the cuffs slightly. I used silver grommets for the cord openings.

I was so happy with this jumper that I immediately made another. This time I bought the collar zips and used a striped silver and blue cotton fabric I found on sale in Spotlight. 

I pattern matched the pockets and made a feature of the front panel by offsetting the stripes. The cuffs and hem band are made from navy ribbing.

I was expecting that the addition of the zips to this would enable the top to be worn with different collar variations. However, I don't really like the unzipped look. I don't know if it's the fabric, but it reminds me of the 80s and not in a good way. I don't bother to open the zips when putting this on or off either, so if I made this again it would be zipless.

One last word on the zips - if I were to put them in again, I would probably turn them over so the right side of the zip pulls showed then the collar was turned down. This is personal preference though.

I'm happy with this, but I prefer the plain fleece one.

Next we have another Named Talvikki (my first is blogged here). I love this pattern with the cool neckline darts and side splits. It is also very quick and easy to make.

This one is made from Fleece from Spotlight. I added cuffs with some pale blue piping just for a change.

This has been such a useful addition to my wardrobe. It goes with everything and I love it.

Finally, I made another Vogue 8962 tunic. My first was made with knitted fabric and looks completely different. This one was made with Spotlight fleece that I found reduced from about $25/m to $5/m. It's not my usual style, but it's lovely and soft inside.

I wanted to practise my coverstitching on this pattern as I'm on a mission to get decent coverstitching. It seems to be a skill that is very hit or miss. Coverstitching always seems to work better on thicker or more stable fabric and I had quite good results this time.

I chose orange thread to match the background of the fabric and highlighted the design lines and hems with coverstitching.

I lined the collar with turquoise fabric to match the cheeks of the faces on the fabric.

Although this fabric isn't quite me, the bold print is fun and the style of the tunic is great to wear. I've worn this a lot more than I expected.

OK, I think I've fulfilled my winter quota of sewing now and got good wear out of everything. Now it's time to bring on summer. Come on Perth!