Finished Project: Blue Sweater

Another stash-busting project!

I purchased a piece of blue merino wool knit fabric from Gala fabric in Victoria a few years ago. It was a remnant and there wasn't enough to make a full long-sleeve top. So right away I thought I should find some complementary fabric. Fast forward three years later, when I finally decided to tackle this project, and I purchased some poly satin in a similar color, for a nice mat/shiny contrast.

For the pattern, I used an RTW sweater that I had in my closet. It's a raglan sleeve, V neck top with fitted sleeve and a loose body.

I traced the sweater and made it into a paper pattern then proceeded to put the pieces together.

I made one rookie mistake though. I didn't account for the fact that my original sweater was a knit, and the complimentary fabric that I purchased for the back was a woven with no stretch whatsoever. As a result, I had to use as much of the seam allowances as i could to get a bit more ease. It's still a little tight if I reach both my arms out in front of me, but I can live with it.

The neckline on the original sweater has no finishing (raw edge) but for this I prefered adding a collar band. I replicated the instructions from Sewaholic's Renfrew top to create the collar band and sleeve cuffs.

I added a strip of satin fabric over the raglan seam in the front for a bit of contrast. I only wish the seam was a little lower below the shoulder so that the seam would be more straight.  

 
I love a buttoned back, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity, so I added a button placket to the center back seam.