They say that armholes are an art. Whether or not this is true, their shape is a preference, and I got feedback on my preference by making the Mood Felicia Sweater.
After making four Seamwork Astorias (an absolutely fabulous sweater pattern!) I wanted something less cropped and without a boat neck shape. The Felicia Sweater is relatively quick to make. I also got to try out my twin needle for the first time. (If you don’t have a coverstitch machine, the twin needle allows you to use two top threads, instead of one, and knits two lines parallel to each other on top, with a slightly stretchy zig-zagged bottom. It’s good for finishing knits.)
Thoughts on this sweater:
–Though the sleeves are a traditional shape, the wide cut of the sleeves and equally wide cut around the bust make the silhouette almost a ‘bat wing’ shape, once it’s all sewn up
–The mock neck is cute but quite tight to fit over your head; the neck fabric is loose and slouchy but the neck hole itself was small.
–The shirt is very long, coming down well past my hips
Viewing the Mickalene Thomas show at the Wexner Center for the Arts. You can see “the bat wing.”
I made this sweater in a lightweight, slightly sheer, and sparkly gold knit. I managed to cut it out of 1.5 yards of fabric (by cutting one sleeve off the grain) even though you need two yards. There is so much ease in the garment, I feel I could have done it in 1.5 if it had been sized a little less generously. I cut a size 8/10.
This pattern is alright and I can likely wear the top from time to time, but this isn’t the sleeve (or bust) shape for me. My next knit items will likely be either the Seamwork Alice or something self-drafted.
Cost: Fabric was $13.99/yard and was $20.99 for 1.5 yards, purchased from moodfabrics.com. I had really hoped that the gold sparkles would be prettier but ultimately think this fabric was priced too high, which is a challenge of buying online. Thread, machine, and needles were on hand; no notions; pattern was free, also from moodfabrics.com.
Fabric composition: cotton, with lurex and spandex
Recommendation: Probably wouldn’t make again, but that’s a style preference and I understand why someone would. I think this sweater would work much better in a heavy ribbed or textured knit that was supposed to look oversized and slouchy.
Past 25 