Me Made May: Day 4 Astoria Cropped Sweater Review

Me Made May looks busier than ever this year.  Looking at the tag #mmmay15 on Instagram I've already noticed a lot more knit tops and dresses than previous years which shows the growth in knit/jersey patterns and the increased availability of good quality jersey fabric.  In Seamwork the new online magazine from the people behind Colette, there was a love crop jersey top design called Astoria.  I printed it out on Friday, taped and cut it out on Saturday and sewed it together yesterday!

The Seamwork patterns are all straightforward beginner frinedly projects with the claim that they can be made in an hour.  I timed myself.  It took me two hours to sew.  I am not a fan of encouraging people to sew very quickly- it often ends in tears!  Here are the details.

• I cut size XS grading to S at the waist.  I cut view 2, long sleeved version.
• I narrowed the neck band width by ½" having seen Lauren's version  on Instagram which had a narrower neck band.  I also ended up shortening the band by 1" and I cut it on the bias to get the diagonal stripes.
• I stabilised the back shoulder seams with knit stay tape.
• I removed 1¾" from hem of the sleeve and added bias cut cuffs, 1 ¾" x 7"instead.
• I straightened the angle of seam at the shoulders- this shaves off approx ⅛" at the neck edge and stops gaping at the neck if you are skinny in this area.  'Hollow chested' is the usual phrase used, nice!
• I used an interlock jersey which is a very stable fabric to work with.  It lies flat, is easy to pin into place and is relatively thick.  Thicker knit fabrics are recommended.  These fabrics are either interlock or sweatshirt with sufficient stretch and should all work for this top.

I am pleased with the result.  I am wearing it will my Gabriola skirt  It's a great fit and the fabric ended up as a great choice.  The sleeves are a little close fitting on the lower part of my arm so I will increase this a little on future versions and I think I will lengthen the body by 1" to reduce the crop by just a little.  The instructions are a little variable  They do vary from being aimed at the total beginner e.g. "the right side of fabric will show on a finished garment; the wrong side will be on the inside" and then lack detail on trickier areas like attaching the neck band or which way to press seams.  The pattern does take a lot of paper too but it tapes together without problems.  I bought the pattern as a one off subscription so it was great value and the pattern is available by itself here.   Rachel of House of Pinheiro wrote a helpful review which you can read here.