Category: Sewing

Pattern: Stella Hoodie by Tilly and the Buttons
Fabric: Marble Effect Teal Loopback Cotton Jersey Fabric (1.8m) + Teal Loopback Cotton Jersey Fabric (0.6m) from Guthrie & Ghani
Little Bits: 100m Gutermann sew all thread

Size: 8
Version: N/A
Mods: Lengthed 5cm + FBA of 6.4cm (1.6cm per side)

I have so much love for this project. Both the pattern and the material are absolutely wonderful. I bought the ‘Stretch’ book from Tilly and the Buttons because comfy cozy snuggly clothes? Yes please! Before you carry on reading I should point out I’ve not received any sort of payment or commission for this post. I’m gushing on for ages about it purely based on my enjoyment of sewing this!

The pattern

Firstly, it is such a well-written pattern. The instructions are incredibly clear and the pictures are beautiful! Each step is laid out in easy to understand terms and anything that could be a bit tricky is explained in even greater detail. It’s so nice to just be able to confidently follow the next step, not wondering if you’re about to ruin your project. It’s also printed on lovely thick paper so you don’t have to worry about it disintegrating into shreds of tissue paper after opening it a few times!

Everything comes together perfectly and the fit is spot on. I don’t think there was even a single point of frustration while making this top. This is easily my favourite hoody now!

The fabric

I used a gorgeous marble effect jersey for the main body of the sweater and this really lovely matching teal jersey for the sleeves and hood lining. For the hoody ties, I used a strip of the accent colour.

Will there be another?

There might already be one in the works.. so yes! I intend to have a pile of these made in all sorts of soft and fluffy fabrics. If you haven’t made one yet I highly recommend it. Although I’m sure you have realised that by now!

Pattern: Kalle by Closet Case
Fabric: Lost At Sea Navy Blue Viscose Fabric from Guthrie & Ghani (1.2m)
Little Bits: 100m Gutermann sew all thread, interfacing, buttons

Size: 8
Version: View A
Mods: Lengthed front & back of view A by 10cm

Pirate Kalle – Side view

Pirate Kalle – Close up view

Pirate Kalle – Back view

I absolutely LOVE my first Kalle and before I’d barely even worn it I was already making plans for this one.

When I saw this fabric on Guthrie & Ghani I immediately knew it needed to be a Kalle. A lovely, billowy Kalle with pirate ships on it! Ok, so maybe they are just supposed to be normal ships but I always think pirate ships when I see them…

Like a good sewer, I prewashed my fabric and interfacing. The latter I slightly regretted because I remembered to do it AFTER I’d cut out all the dried fabric pieces and had to wait until the interfacing had dried to iron it on for step 1! I suppose it’s better, in the long run, to make sure the interfacing won’t shrink. It’s so frustrating when you just want to jump on the sewing machine!

Initially, I lay my pieces out as suggested by the pattern. I then sit and rearrange them until I’ve made the absolute best use of fabric I can think of. It’s a nice little sense of achievement to end up with a single larger piece leftover rather than scraps. I did start to wonder, what am I going to do with all these leftovers that are piling up… So I thought, hey, I’ll be clever and order less this time. Turns out 1.2m for a lengthened view A (which calls for 1.8m before my extension) is a wee bit of a stretch.

Somehow I managed to make it work with the scariest, smallest amount of leftovers I’ve ever had. I needed to ditch the full collar I’d originally planned and swapped in the band collar but I still managed my full hidden button placket! My hidden button placket was the last piece to cut out and I was fully mentally prepared to somehow cut it using two pieces of fabric and sew them together but my last piece ended up being EXACTLY the length it needed. No joke, I didn’t need to trim any off the top or bottom, it was the perfect length.

Would I try this again with 1.2m, probably not no… maybe 1.3m or 1.4m 🙂 That’s another thing I love about buying from Guthrie & Ghani, they sell in 10cm increments so you aren’t forced to buy a full metre when you don’t need it.