The Linden Sweatshirt is everywhere! It seems like they're constantly popping up in our Instagram feed, on sewing blogs, and even in the store! This pattern is designed by Grainline Studio, one of our indie pattern lines here at Stonemountain. You will find it made out of sweater fabric, sweatshirt fleece, every type and weight of knit fabric, not to mention a few woven flannel versions. It's deliciously simple to whip up and that must be why it's such a favorite!
Our Linden is not really a sweatshirt at all. Because the pattern is so easy, there are many ways to change the pattern up to make your Linden YOU! And don't we just love breaking the rules!
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| What fabric would you choose for your Linden? |
We chose a very lightweight jersey knit to make our top. It is accented with a heathered grey jersey knit which we used on neckline and sleeves. To make our top little more day-to-evening, we added a gathered peplum at the bottom. Peplums have been around since the 1800's and were very popular in the 1940's to 1950's. We think they've stayed in style as they are flattering to most figure types and they can add an element of softness and femininity to a silhouette.
We remember a time when a crop of designers in the 80s were making wardrobe "capsules" consisting of 3 to 5 jersey knit garments that could be layered and tied in every conceivable way to make a dozen different looks. These knit garments were at the start of the serging, or overlocking, revolution for designers and home sewists alike. You could sew an entire garment on your serger without ever touching your sewing machine. These days many of the modern machines have stretch stitches and overlocking capabilities, so it's easy to finish off your handmade garments.
But you have to admit, it's still great to be able to sew a whole garment using a serger. Our Linden top does have a few places where Laurel used her traditional sewing machine, but she mostly stuck to the serger.
The neckband and sleeve cuffs are applied by stretching our grey contrast fabric of the bands to the bodice top and sleeves. Laurel sewed them first, then serged the finished edge and then top stitched the band in place. We will say that the more knit bands that you apply, the easier it gets. Practice makes perfect!
Our finished Linden top, with a peplum change-up!
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| The design details make it so much fun! |
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| Loving my new Linden with my Ginger Jeans |
As this very intense and creative year wraps up, I hope that we have been able to inspire you to create some unique clothing of your own. Let's see what more we can dream into for 2017.
Thanks for sharing the ride!
Suzan
Sewing Resource Center since 1981
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