Cosy Enid Sweater for the first make of the year.

Thought I would start the year off with what I hoped would be an easy make, the Enid Sweater by Jennifer Lauren Vintage.  I wanted to try a top that was cosy, but perhaps a bit more shapely.  The pattern is designed really to be made from sweatshirt fabric, it is a cropped style and the fabric is cut on the bias.  It offers two different necklines, a V-neck and a square neckline.

Enid Sweater worn with Delphine skirt.

I chose a purple merino fabric that I already had (bought from newzealandmerinos.com), it is a medium weight with a little stretch.  Going by the measurement chart I decided to make the size 14, which just  fits me, so I would say it is a neat fit.  I would probably go up a size if I was using sweatshirt fabric with no stretch.  Being cut on the bias does give it a lovely shape and there is a slight grain on my fabric which you can see.

The one thing I'm not too sure about is that the sleeves are rather wide and baggy.  Maybe this a vintage style thing, fitted body and baggy sleeves, also they are quite long (I don't have particularly short arms).

I used a cotton knit rib banding (from plushaddict.co.uk, they have a great range of colours).  It was my first time using it and  it's fairly easy to work with.  My first attempt at the 'V' was a bit puckery, I toyed with covering it with a button or some other disguise, but it was bugging me, so I unpicked it very slowly and carefully.  I was afraid of distorting either the main fabric or the banding, but I repositioned it, stitched it up and it was fine.  It's important to be quite exact about the way you pin the band to the base of the 'V', otherwise it can bubble.  It was my first time doing a V-neck and also it is the first garment sewn on my new Janome.

So I think if I make another one, I will shorten the sleeves and look at possibly taking the sleeves in even slightly (they just feel a bit floppy, but I guess if I used sweatshirt fabric there would be less floppiness) and also try the square neckline.  Overall I do like it, instructions are good and it gives me a nice cosy outfit with my Delphine skirt (blogged here)

Next project up is a Liberty shirt for the hubbie - better get cutting, it was meant to be for Xmas.  Oops.