The “Rosebud Warm-up”

The Facts
Fabric: 1 3/4 yards Betsey Johnson rosebud print sweatshirt fabric from B&J
Pattern: Simplicity 2192 (Cynthia Rowley)
Year: 2011
Notions: none
First worn: Just for photos, sweating.
Wear again: Yes, in fall, winter, and spring.
Time to complete: about 3 hours
Total cost: about $22

I’m very mildly sporty these days– I walk and bike for transportation and go jogging a couple times a week– but from age 5 to 18 I swam competitively year round.  When I was in high school, I drove from Northeast Ohio to the Olympic Trials in Indianapolis with a couple other kids on the swim team and basked in the chlorinated glory of the stars of the sport.  It was pretty awesome.  So my first thought was to make a bathing suit or some sort of poolside attire.  However, my summer sewing conditions demand that I keep projects as simple as possible.  I had this sweatshirt fabric in my stash and this pattern on hand, so a sweatshirt I made.

I sewed it up on my regular machine and finished the seams and hemmed edges with my serger.  I could have done the whole thing on the serger, but I’m just too chicken.  For the hems, I used a wide twin needle on my regular machine.  I’m pleased with how well they turned out.  From now on  I’ll only use the twin needle with hems 3/4″ or wider, though; the sleeve hems are narrower and don’t look as good.  I may eventually take in the side seams a bit to make the shape less boxy.  I couldn’t keep it  on long enough to adequately test and decide because it’s so stinking hot and humid right now.

That’s okay because I’m sure later I’ll be wearing it a lot with jeans.  I learned from me-made-May that I could use some reasonably fashionable, casual, effortless pieces to get me through the days when I can’t be bothered to put together a cute outfit.  A boat-neck sweatshirt that looks and feels like pajamas definitely fulfills this need.