Linden meets Liberty fleece

Linden meets Liberty fleece

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After eight months of maturing in the stash, I’m so pleased that this gorgeous Liberty fleece is now in a wearable format.

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I’m sure my chosen pattern, Grainline Studio’s Linden Sweatshirt, needs little introduction.

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I know, I know, you want to find out more about the fleece.  I think ‘heavenly’ is the best description! The quality is amazing, but you’d expect that from Liberty, and it’s so cosy and warm.  I purchased the fabric last September from Tessuti who amazingly got their hands on a few ex-designers rolls which sold out in a blink of an eye.

How awesome is the floral print?  I’m enjoying wearing this spring-time print while others around me are dressed black or other dark colours.  Melbourians are known for their love of black, whereas I like to do my own thing!

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Liberty fleece is 100% cotton and has minimal stretch.  The Linden Sweatshirt is drafted for fabric with a minimum of 20% stretch.  Living on the edge people!  With this in mind, and knowing that I was going to use the fleece for the neckband, cuffs and hem band, I knew I’d need to lengthen those pattern pieces.

These days I trace and cut my patterns on the flat… see you can teach an old dog new tricks!  For the size 8, I added 4cm to the neckband, 3cm to the cuffs and 2cm to the hem band pattern pieces.  If you cut any pieces on the fold you’ll need to halve those amounts.  Please note, there was no science to my lengthening… it was just a gut feel kind of a thing… but it worked for me and I am very relieved!

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To ensure that the neckline sat flat, the neckband was stretched to within an inch of it’s life.  To avoid the whole neckline stretching out during this process I applied fusible stay tape to the neckline section of the front, back and sleeve pieces.  To tell you the truth, I’m a little addicted to fusible stay tape.  Do you share my addiction?

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My biggest challenge with this sew was the ensure that I didn’t attached the neckline, cuffs and hem band upside down.  Success!

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My last Linden was in a drapey medium weight knit which gave it a lovely slouchy feel.  The Liberty fleece is definitely more structured but it still moulds to your body.  Here is the compare-off between two size 8s.  What other things do you notice… apart from my differing facial expressions?

DSC_0123Grainline Studio's Linden Sweatshirt

Pattern:  Grainline’s Linden Sweatshirt (pdf & paper)
Size: 
8
Fabric: 
Liberty fleece from Tessuti (long sold out!)
Alterations: 
Shortened the sleeves by a total of 2″ (5cm).  Added length to the neckband, cuffs and bottom band to account for the lack of stretch in my the fleece.
Accessories:   Gifted flowers… thank-you Sharon!

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