kcw spring 2014 :: cozy raglan sweater

i had to skip posting yesterday to start/do our taxes (bluuuuugh), but i did have this finish i’ve been excited to share. it’s so soft you guys!

this week’s “sew my upcycle pile” theme stemmed from me sorting through and getting rid of a bunch of stuff that i knew i’d never sew with. i have a small sewing room and there was just too much STUFF in there. while i was sorting through it all, i found two banana republic sweaters of mine – they were short sleeved, crew neck sweaters that i wore a ton when i was pregnant with this little miss, but not since because they were all stretched out and not very flattering.

however, the material is great – it’s a cashmere/acrylic/other blend that is washable, super soft, and warm. i had a cream one and a purple one whose colors looked nice together….and the perfect amount of fabric for a new color blocked raglan sweater for the girlie!

the pattern once again is the Oliver S field trip raglan (quickly becoming my most-used O S pattern!). i made a 4T for her (cut to full length even though i used factory hems for a little extra growing room). i tend to use my t-shirt patterns a lot for O but not much for E, but i’m trying to change that because she loves picking out her own skirt/top combos these days.

i made her skirt a while ago but never blogged it – it’s just a quick no-ribbon lazy days skirt in Heather Ross’ Far Far Away iii linen/cotton blend. i was excited to spot it at Center Diamond last spring and it’s such wonderful apparel fabric. oh and did you see Heather is re-releasing Far Far Away with Windham soon?? can’t wait!!

as you may have noticed, i added a self-drafted kangaroo pocket to this sweater. Liesl talked about doing that here – i think it’s a cute addition to make it look more “sweater-like,” and kids always love pockets!

i backed the pocket with a scrap leftover from this dress - a woven so it’d be more stable to work with. i sewed around it right sides together, trimmed seam allowances and turned it through an opening i left, then topstitched the curvy hand openings. i figured out placement on the sweater and marked each point with water soluble fabric marker, then covered each of those marks with 1” squares of interfacing on the inside so the weight of the pocket wouldn’t pull and create holes in the sweater. then i topstitched it on around all but the curvy hand openings. i used my walking foot for it all since the sweater material was very stretchy and a bit thick.

this is the type of outfit that gets worn around here a lot during Portland springs/summers. our mornings start cool but afternoons are nice and warm, so we layer a lot. she has a couple cardigans in her wardrobe but no pullover sweaters, so it was a nice addition.

honestly though, i’m kinda bummed this new-and-improved version isn’t my size!!

you can see all my kids clothes week projects here.