Finished - Wilma in Manning LIberty fleece

Just recently my seasonal sewing switch got flicked and, despite the freezing start to Melbourne's Spring, all I want to do is sew with wovens. Looking at my Autumn/Winter Sewn list (I keep one on Evernote, at the bottom of my intended sewing list) 24 out of 33 garments were knits! Clearly I have a not-very subliminal need for cosy stretchiness when it's fresh outside. This is the last garment I made this winter, and she's just luuuurvely! 

This is Wilma, a knit sweater/dress pattern from Japanese company Tamanegi-kobo. I've been ogling it since last winter, and thanks to the power of money + Internet Wilma was mine. 

Now I love love love my Style Arc Esme jumper with it's wonderful collar and get comments whenever I wear it, but it's sometimes a little too warm plus I just had to try Wilma's cut on funnel neck. I'd pinned some wonderful funnel neck sweaters including these gorgeous things: 

 

  

(all images found via Pinterest)

The fabric is some luscious Liberty Linford fleece I acquired, this time thanks to the power of Instagram + wine + money + Internet, from The Fabric Store. It is a true fluffy backed pure cotton fleece, the print is Manning, printed with psychedelic glaciers and mountains. It's warm, thick and beautiful. But I think printed slightly off grain...... 

Anyhow I thought it was rather reasonably priced, and decided I was having myself some psychedelic glacier action. The husband thinks it's very 80's....

Now the sizing chart on the Tamanegi Kobi website ostensibly puts me well outside their size range, but nonetheless I was optimistic and figured that worst case scenario I could transplant the neckline onto my Esme and all would be well. As it turns out, comparing the fit of Esme to Wilma it was quite oversized so I went with the 3rd largest size at the bust, and graded up to the largest at the hips to square off the hip fit (as the pattern is actually a dress and tapers inwards). I used my Esme finished length as a guide for Wilma too. 

The pattern has excellent instructions in English, and is beautifully drafted. I was all set to do a forward shoulder adjustment as the last thing I wanted was to have that funnel dragging back and strangling me, but realised the pattern already had that factored in, with a much longer seam in the back of the armscye. Genius! The sleeve is also drafted with a cool twist, to enable thumb holes. I neglected to realise my arms would probably be longer than those of the average petite Japanese lady, and my thumbs are thus not destined to be kept warm in this version. The pattern also gives instructions on how to draft a standard sleeve, without the twist, if this is your preferred look. 

Can you make out how forward that shoulder seam is?

Twisted arm seam

The neckline is self faced (which is something to keep in mind with an itchy fabric - one could easily hack a separate facing if needed), and the back is top stitched down. The fleece curls quite a bit, which did annoy me and caused a little of the dreaded choke at the front neckline so after the first wash so I fixed it in place with Steam A Seam Lite.  We'll see how long that lasts. The print is so busy top stitching it wouldn't really be visible, but it would be a shame to lose that lovely streamlined look in a less fussy fabric. 

And the verdict. Love. Love. LOVE. Without a shadow of a lie I wore it for at least part of every day for 7 days straight. It's cosy and chic and pretty much perfect. Can you imagine how gorgeous the dress version would be?! I just love a funnel neck, and adore the new Talvekki Sweater by Named (those side splits - Oh my giddy aunt!); I also have this Knipmode pattern in my collection. But they're for next winter!