My husband wanted a fleece top for hiking, and had a few specifics in mind. He wanted a partial zip front and a closer fit through the body. We started by using the pattern we used for the Cat Man Fleece, Simplicity 4889 and by using the lobster fabric. As a side note, there are not weird wrinkles in the top - I just snapped the photo a little earlier than expected.The lobster fabric is a total disaster - the waffle knit really, really stretches and is not as firm as some waffle knits I've encountered. That trial run will be lining a trash can soon - coincidentally tomorrow is trash day in my town. Initially, I thought a large would be the correct size since he has recently lost some weight. Not so, as this pattern is designed with a lot of ease. At least the lobster fabric provided us with the information that a large is still too large for this type of top. After taking measurements, and comparing them to the finished garment measurements listed on the pattern pieces, we decided that a medium would be the right size with the right amount of ease.
I constructed the top up to the collar in the fleece and had him try it on - perfect! I also pinned up the hems and we adjusted the neckline a little to follow his neckline a bit better.
I then went about adding a collar and zipper to a pattern which originally didn't have either item. I had pretty much decided how I was going to do this, and decided to do a little research to make sure I wasn't crazy. Thankfully, the good old Reader's Digest Guide to Sewing has directions for *exactly* this sort of collar and zipper finish - and even in a stretch fabric. I mostly followed the directions with a few changes and ended up with this collar and zipper:
The only change I made to the RD directions was to add a bit of bias tape to the facing at the neckline to finish it nicely and cover the seam allowances:
To finish the hems, I did a wide coverstitch with the coverstitch machine:
He's really happy with it and maybe he'll get to try it out this weekend if the weather is nice! He's also said not to be surprised if he comes home with more fleece and zippers.Parting Shot: Secret Code. My son loves those old Hardy Boys books and so do his friends. They've even got a club and secret code made up for themselves.
10 comments:
Your husband looks great with the weight he has lost, but I still love the Cat Man Fleece shirt the best!
Great fleece shirt.
My kids love to make up their own codes, too.
Hi Summerset,
My 11 y.o. son discovered the HB a couple of years ago on a road trip via audiobooks. He loves them to death. We've asked his father (a media professional) to record a couple of books for him, to add to his collection since they haven't made any more audiobooks.
The fleece top looks great. I prewashed my lobster fabric three times (thanks) and they're working well for long underwear/pj bottoms.
LMAO!!! I totally forgot about Cat Man! I just found a couple metres of that exact fleece in my stash, which I planned to make into a shirt for The Hotness for Christmas!!
I guess that makes me a copy-cat!
I love that book, the Readers Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, it is very thorough! It has 6 whole pages on just bound buttonholes! I have been wondering how many other people resource this book!
I should add though, that I have the 1976 version (thrift store $2.99!).
I love to hear when children are really playing with each other and using their creativity. It is just the way it should be. I went to a birthday party not long ago and saw six kids sitting on the couch, each with their own DS, and absolutely no communication or interaction going on. Why bother? You definitely get the Great Mom award for letting your kids be creative and letting them play and read. Warms my heart.
Shirt looks great . . .but I think he needs another edition of the cat shirt. ;-) I like how you adapted the shirt to include a zipper.
El
Very nice fleece top.
My 8 year old LOVES the Hardy Boys!! He checks out several each time we go to the library. Nancy Drew was always my favorite, so it brings back good memories. The blue bindings of the Hardy Boys were always right next to Nancy Drew in my favorite book store!
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