Sloane sweatshirt from Named

I have made the Sloane sweatshirt from Named. I cut a size 40 bust and 42 hip (According to the measurement table I should cut a 38 bust/ 40 waist/ 42 hip, but I decided to cut 40/ 42 due to the make of the PDF pattern – I have written more about this at the end of this post).

This is an extremely easy sweater to make; sew the bust darts, shoulder seams and side seams and the ribbing. Voila, new sweater. I am actually really pleased with this – the bust darts make it much less bulky than my other sweaters.

I added 4 cm/ 1.6″ in length, the same in the sleeves. I removed it from the sleeves before I added the cuffs, as the sleeves had a good length. Now I think I might add it back, as I love longer sleeves, and these hit me right on the wrist. I also scooped out the neck opening a bit, as several people mentioned it being tight, and I don’t like things touching my neck 🙂

I used a very nice jersey, quiltet in deep navy, 80% polyester/ 20% cotton.It is cool to the touch and feels very nice, soft and light.

So, as much as I hated the PDF pattern, I guess this will be a pattern I will make again. Love the sweater, its flattering and comfy!

For my next version I will take the shoulders in about 1 cm/ 0.4″ as the seam falls a bit on the shoulder, this is probably due to the top part being size 40 and not size 38. Also slim the sleeves down a bit from the elbow down.

It is difficult to take pictures of this deep, navy blue. The picture on the left is true in color, the one on the right I have lightened so you can see the darts. (The leggins are 5oo4 Ninjas, free pattern).

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Notes on the PDF pattern itself:

So, I have had this pattern for a few months, I fell in love with the sweater after seeing what other people made. But it has been lying unused in my drawer due to a lot of small, annoying things with the pattern:

1. The files only includes 2 sizes per file and not all sizes. As I per the measurement table needed a size 38 for the upper part and 42 for the lower I would have had to print the pattern twice. It is not a very large file, but still – I don’t enjoy taping. If you need to blend two sizes, better hope that they are included in the same file. If you need to blend more than 2 sizes, you need to print the pattern twice. This makes blending sizes so much more painfull than simply using a ruler to taper between sizes.

2. So I put the pattern in the closet for a few months, but then I recently saw a make of it again, and decided to just use 40 for the upper part, so I only had to print 1 pattern. But – even though the pattern pieces for size 40 and 42 are in the same file, they are not aligned! Argh. So to blend even two sizes is annoying. Again, not just taking a ruler between the lines.

3. Then I started tracing. And was even more annoyed, as the lines in the pattern are black and grey in stead of colors, so it was very difficult to tell them from the lines in my tracing paper.

4. This is just mildly annoying: On the pattern pieces there is a line marking where to actually sew.I don’t enjoy extra lines when I am tracing!

Maybe the testers for this pattern/ the versions I saw online fit perfectly in one size? I don’t know; I find this time consuming and annoying. So, if you are a pattern designer: Make sure that some of your testers fall between sizes, to test how easy it will be to grade between sizes.

I think it is safe to say that Named patterns are not for me – the fact that they only include 2 sizes per file is a dealbreaker for a pear shaped lady like me. The other points are just annoying, and I wonder why Named have decided to do it this way. The thing is, Named have a lot of patterns I have been eyeing, but I will not be buying due to how they make their PDFs (also, I think this pattern is a very good pattern for a new sewist, but the PDF file is definitely not for someone inexperienced).