Renfrew Top, O! Jolly! Fabric

A few weeks ago I posted Modifying Commercial Sewing Patterns to Suit Sweater Knit Fabrics. At the end of the post I nominated Sewaholic's Renfrew Top as "an excellent candidate for a sweater knit fabric." Well, I've done it! Not with the fabric pictured in that earlier post, but with my Moonstone fabric in sky blue.

I chose the Renfrew, because it fit my two criteria. First, it was designed for knits. Second, it's a basic design. To top it off, the Renfrew was voted the #1 Best Pattern of 2012 at Pattern Review. This gave me lots of confidence to work with this particular pattern, as I don't have much recent experience with commercial ones.

I'm not the ideal body type for Sewaholic patterns. They're designed for "pear-shaped women"; I'm more rectangular. Turns out it was simple to adjust, a delight to sew with clear instructions, and I love wearing the top!

I should make this very clear up front: It states on the pattern envelope that the recommended fabrics  are "stable knit fabrics".  Sweater knit fabrics are not always the most stable, and I think I chose the least stable fabric I've knitted recently. Why? I think I really wanted to prove that it could be done and that one needn't be fearful of cutting and sewing sweater knit fabrics. (If I can do it with this openwork, lace-like, sweater knit cotton material, a less challenging sweater knit fabric with a commercial pattern would be easy.)

Moonstone sweater knit fabric in sky blue

As stated in my earlier post, the first thing that must be modified is the layout. As artisan fabrics are generally narrower than commercial fabrics, I used what's become my standard layout for tops. This placement is for the ribs running vertically and the greatest stretch in the horizontal direction. (For the record, this is the opposite of how I laid out the original Moonstone.) Also, I didn't want lacy fabric for the bands and so I ended up using two fabrics -- the lacy one for the main pieces and a plain jersey in the same color for the bands.

This is the standard layout I've used for several sweaters on narrow fabric. Tip: Do not allow any fabric to hang over the edge of the table. It will stretch the fabric. 

As you can see, I never place any pattern piece on a fold with sweater knit fabrics. I really want to match textures or patterns evenly and there is so much more control laying the pieces out flat. For the Renfrew, I cut whole pieces out of banner paper first, then laid out these banner paper pattern pieces on my fabric. I admit to finding it easier working with the heavier paper than the tissue paper pattern.

Because my band fabric (available by special order) was also narrow, it was necessary for me to cut the waistband in two separate pieces. I added a seam allowance, where I would make the new side seam. I did the same for the neckband, making sure the seams would be at the sides. It wasn't necessary to add seam allowances for the neck band; you'll see why below.

After cutting all the pieces, I stabilized the edges with Super Solvy. An alternative method of stabilizing the edges would be to serge or zigzag the edges of all pieces immediately after cutting and before sewing. If using a serger or sewing machine, be sure you've made all adjustments to differential feed (for the serger), tension, and stitch size ahead of time, so that you do not stretch the edges. A walking foot for the sewing machine is highly recommended.

The following sentence may shock the regular readers of this blog. I used transparent elastic to stabilize the shoulders! I, who swore I wouldn't use that stuff again (at least for a little while), used transparent elastic without any problems whatsoever! Since the fabric is lacy, I didn't want to chance using the recommended twill tape, which might show through the openwork fabric.

One major modification I made came when I attached the neckband. With the soft stretch of a sweater knit, one usually reduces length of the neckband considerably in order to "snug up" the neckline. Rule of thumb has the unstretched neck band at 75% to 80% the size of the neckline. Though the neckband for View A is already smaller than the neckline, I ended up cutting 2 inches from the neckband to be sure the neckline would lie flat. It worked well. From the reviews I've read of this pattern, I'm sure this modification isn't necessary with a more stable knit.

With a few easy modifications, most basic commercial patterns designed for knits can be used with the heavier, or lacier, less stable sweater knits. The Renfrew Top works amazingly. And remember, because wool is so much easier to work with than cotton, there are lots of wonderful possibilities for fabulous winter sweaters!

O!
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Further Notes on the Escape Hat - Sunroof Edition

My modifications of the Escape Hat by Angel Lea Designs have mostly to do with the fact that I wanted to pull my hair through the top of the hat. The Escape Hat is a great style and with a few modifications I was able to use the  fabric I wanted.

If someone wants to make a similar version, here's what to do:

Purchase the pattern.
A similar pattern had been recommended to me by Andrea of Go To Patterns when I tweeted my need for this style of hat. I ended up buying the Escape Hat from Go To Patterns just in case I ever wanted to make a "man's version". The Escape Hat pattern is also available directly from the designer.

Choose the fabric.
I went wa-a-a-ay far off the recommended materials when I chose this for the brim, my custom diamond fabric for the crown, and a bamboo jersey for the lining. Next time I'll choose a lighter weight jersey for the lining.

Cut out the interfacing.
One of the things I learned when using a sweater knit for this pattern is that if you're using the various interfacings listed in the pattern instructions (and you should), the absolutely first thing you should cut out is the fusible interfacing. Follow the downloaded instructions for "Preparation and Cutting", but only cut out the interfacing for now. For the "Sunroof Edition" there's no need to cut out the hat top or contrast band.

Fuse the interfacing pieces to the fabric and cut out the fabric.
Use the cut out pieces of interfacing and place them on the wrong sides of the main fabric and lining fabric. Pay particular attention to the texture of these fabrics and decide where you'd like the fabric designs to match (or not). Be sure the main and lining materials are not stretched. When the interfacing is properly placed, tack each piece of the interfacing to the fabric in one or two places by touching the tip of your warm iron to the interfacing. Then fuse the interfacing to the fabric applying pressure with your hot iron. I find it's easiest to work with one piece at a time. Cut the fabric using the fused interfacing pieces as your guide.

Skipping any directions for the top of the hat or the contrast band, construct the hat and the lining following written instructions. 

I cut the crown of the main fabric and lining down about an inch or so, because I thought it would work better for my head and hair. I also pressed down 1/2 inch of the top of crown on the main fabric and lining in preparation for finishing.

The weird thing, of course, is that once everything is fused, you can treat your sweater knit fabric just the way you'd treat any woven fabric. This has its good and its bad points. One of the things I love about knits is the stretch. Once the fabric is fused, the stretch is gone wherever you use the non-woven interfacing. The fabric will still stretch at the crown, where the knit interfacing is used, but I found the recovery to be slow with the particular knit interfacing I used.

So why use a sweater knit at all? I used it for the texture. I love the texture of this fabric and really wanted to see it as the hat I imagined. If you're going with a sweater knit, I recommend using only a knit with texture or color patterns you'd like in a hat. The knit qualities serve no purpose in this hat. It's a trophy knit.

After the hat and lining are constructed, pin the brims with right sides together and sew around brim completely.

Turn hat right side out, press and ladder stitch the entire top edge of the crown.

And that's it! The Escape Hat Pattern is really a gem. One day I'll make it as it's written.

O!

Best of Industry Methods

When we work with knit fabrics, we are often borrowing some of the best of the industry methods and translating them into techniques that are practical and enjoyable for us to use in our own sewing rooms/studios/corners with our own machines.

The clothing industry, however, has based many of their methods on what individual artisans developed many years ago.  Recently posted on Style Bubble is The Paris-Édimbourg Knitwear Trail, a piece on the better side of industry practices, the production of Chanel knitwear at Barrie Knitwear in Scotland. Though the article has a couple of small errors in explanations of some knitwear terms, all in all it's a wonderful story on how Chanel knitwear is created -- knitting, linking, cutting, sewing, more fully fashioned than cut & sew (half-fashioned, actually), plus hand blocking, hand finishing and lots of attention to detail.

Check the video below, then head on over to the Style Bubble post to read the story and see lots of great pics, too.

O!

Escape Hat - Sunroof Edition

In my last post I discussed modifying commercial patterns to suit sweater knit fabrics. I broke my own first rule in my latest project. In that post I strongly suggested that the commercial pattern you choose should be specifically designed for knits.

The suggested fabric for the Escape Hat pattern by Angel Lea Designs was linen, and not a linen knit. I decided to used a much heavier cotton sweater knit. Why? Just because I thought the stitch patterns would look good with that style of hat!

The pattern called for interfacing throughout. The good part about using interfacing is that my knit fabrics didn't require any temporary stabilization. Though for some reason it took me awhile to figure that out, what it meant was that working with the pieces of stable knit fabric was similar to working with a woven fabric. The challenging part about using interfacing was that with my fancy cotton rib main fabric and jersey bamboo lining, the whole hat became thicker than I had expected. Next time I'll use a couple of my lighter weight knits.

You may have noticed, if you go to check out the Escape Hat pattern (available directly from the designer here), that my version is missing something. I knew when I bought the pattern that I wouldn't be using the top piece; I really wanted to pull my hair through. I'll show my tips for modifying this wonderful pattern in an upcoming post.

ETA Click to read Further Notes on the Escape Hat - Sunroof Edition posted May 18, 2013.

O!
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