A couple months ago the lovely people at Schnittchen patterns asked me if I'd like to try out one of their patterns. They have so many interesting pattern designs that I had a hard time choosing one. I really liked the look of the Ute dress. But in the end, I settled on something that I expect to get a lot of wear out of, the Catrin Sweatshirt. I've made quite a few sweatshirts in the past year or so. But I wear them often enough that I thought there was room for one more, especially one like this oversized, cozy Catrin.
The design is very oversized with a drop shoulder, side insets, a high-low hem and a unique under arm seam that ends in a dart. I made a size 40 and it is plenty big. My bust measurement is 38" so I actually sized down a smidge. The oversized look reminds me of the eighties in all the best ways. As soon as winter sets in, I'll be donning this sweatshirt and leggings on the regular. I might even watch some Flashdance while I'm lounging.
The instructions in the booklet are not super detailed so I consulted the English language photo tutorial. It's a pretty straightforward garment except for the underarm seam. Instead of a side seam there is a curved panel that is sewn to the front and back at each side. Then the sleeve cap is attached to the body. And finally the underarm sleeve is stitched, starting at the wrist and ending with a dart in the side insert. I didn't realize what I was supposed to do at first. But it all worked out ok and I really love this design feature. It's so unusual. I love it!
The fabric is a kind of heavy loop back french terry. According to my Instagram (I scrolled way back to check), I bought it way back in January at the FIDM Scholarship store in downtown LA. I didn't have any trouble working it. It is thicker than some of the other sweatshirt fabrics I've worked with so the topstitching seemed to sink into the fabric. I think maybe lowering the tension on my machine would help this. By the way if you're looking for tips for topstitching knits, I put together a post about it right here.
I've really enjoyed wearing this sweatshirt on the occasional cool night we've had this summer. It's so warm and comfortable. I'm sure it's going to be in frequent wardrobe rotation. A big thank you to Schnittchen for giving me this pattern. I really enjoyed sewing it and I'm looking forward to trying more of their patterns in the future.
As a pattern maker, I always end up making my patterns many, many times during the development phase. And usually end up with an excess of supplies for those particular patterns. When I was developing the Ali Sweatshirt, I was constantly on the lookout for sweatshirt fabric and grabbed a few yards whenever I found it. I found this classic grey sweatshirt fabric on a visit to The Fabric Store’s LA location (now sadly closed). It has a nice amount of stretch and is a nice lightweight that is perfect for the warm climate of Southern California. I first used this fabric to make a sample of the Ali Sweatshirt which I wear all the time. But I had a good amount leftover so in January I decided to make a matching pair of Hudson Pants. And voila! A fully me-made sweatsuit. (Side note, there’s something about January that always makes me want to sew cozy things like pajamas and sweat pants.)