Dropped Shoulder Sweater: Simplicity 8738

やっと秋らしく涼しくなりました。でも涼しくなったと思ったらもう急に寒くなったので、あったかめの服を作りました。
布は去年ロンドンで買った、編み物柄にキルトされてるニットです。

Once the autumn hit my area, it got really cold all of a sudden so I'm in a full winter sewing mode. Funny I actually just made four Sewaholic Renfrew shirts before this project (unblogged), two of which were short sleeve T-shirts.

The pattern is Simplicity 8738. I made a view B, tunic length, turtle neck.

The fabric is a poly/rayon blend quilted knit that I bought at Knitting and Stitching Show in London last year. I actually saw this knit on YouTube and had been checking on Higgs & Higgs website for like a year (fabric was pricier in general in England) but then at Knitting Stitching Show, my wallet was kinda loose.

I measured my men's hoodie I happened to be wearing and by comparing it to the finished measurement of the pattern, I decided to cut a size XS. I shortened the bodice by 2" and shortened the sleeves by 2".

Then came the neck band (the turtle neck). I sewed the ends together to a make a tube, folded in half, and it looked, you know, extra small, as the pattern size may suggest. And it did not even go over my forehead. I am short, but I am known to have a big head, both figuratively and literally.

Of course I did not check the stretch gauge on the envelope before I started the project. It's an oversize sweater so I didn't even think about stretch percentage.

I re-cut the neck band for size XXL (yes, my head is that big), and also re-cut the bodice neck line for XXL to match.

I like it, but I think I did not do justice to both the fabric and the pattern. I think I need to go up a size to Small, which is what the pattern suggests for my body measurements. I know it sounds funny to go up a size when there is already so much ease. But I think the sleeve/shoulder junction needs to drop down a little further, and just a bit more ease to make it look intentionally oversized.

And I think this quilted knit was too stable for this pattern. I originally earmarked this fabric for Jalie 2795 (zip front jacket). The fabric is great (though it does feel very polyester) but it just does not have the drape. A Jalie jacket would have been a better pattern for the fabric. This is totally my fabric/pattern matching error. But that's what happens when the weather gets cold and I want a big cozy turtleneck.

I will come back to this pattern again when I find a nice chunky sweater knit.