Jumper Sparkle

 I decided to get into my fabric stash and make a coordinating jumper and shirt, and this is the jumper

It was made with Simplicity 9757, and, yeah.  It's pretty basic.

The other time I made this as an experienced sewing type person (as opposed to a failed attempt in the 90s), I graded from small at the bust to medium at the waist and hips.  I also made that one from a knit, and didn't want to risk the bust area being too small in this woolly woven version.  Now that this is finished, I don't think there would have been any danger of that, because the bust is really roomy.  Even for a jumper.

I...might even be considering picking out the arm hole edge stitching a bit near the side seams, then taking in that area a little (followed by re-top-stitching the arm holes)

I sewed the armholes using the burrito method, so it would be a fairly simple matter of opening the shell and lining out and stitching in from the existing seam in both.

It isn't supposed to be lined, but, once I washed this Walmart mill end pre-cut, with its distinct feeling of containing wool, the texture became noticeably rougher than it had been straight out of the package (potential change in texture is a big part of why I do prewash stuff), so I knew it would benefit from a nice smooth lining.   I chose this pink because, one, I had a lot of it, and, two, I thought it would be cheerful to put pink inside this otherwise neutral shell.  I...uh...I didn't think about how fleshy innards it might look...

The instructions are missing for this pattern, but the envelope illustrations clearly show the hems being top stitched.  I ignored that and did a blind hem.

The patch pockets were probably the most fiddly part of this--even more fiddly than creating and sewing the lining pieces to the lower curves of the facings, which I also had to make up, because the pattern pieces are missing.  The pattern wants you to press under the lower edges, which, with all those curves, I did not want to do.  So!  I cut some more lining fabric, a little smaller than the pocket pieces, to not only create an even curve, but also to force the fabric to roll to the inside and keep the lining from peeking out the edges.

I also added some interfacing to the tops of the pockets.  They're fairly sturdy now.

The back is even more bland than the front, and I am once again annoyed that the under arm area is so wide that the A-line cut of this view is completely lost.  I really am considering taking that area in.

I did shorten this by 3", at the lengthen/shorten line, which is in the bust area.  I don't think that reduced the A-line flare, but it didn't do anything to make it seem less boxy overall.  (I also moved the pockets back down 2", since they had also gotten raised by that shortening operation.)

I don't know how obvious it is in the pictures above, but the fabric has metallic yarns, so it sparkles?

They're rather subdued sparkles, but they are there.  I think wanting to celebrate the sparkles is also encouraging me to consider going back and make the bust area narrower.  And I just realized that my fears of making it all so narrow that I couldn't even pull it on...well...I've been wearing this woven pull-over dress as a jumper since the weather started cooling down, so I may have more leeway than I initially thought.  Hmm.

Edit: I grabbed it and cut off some width under the arm holes, tapering to the waist, and managed to key off the wrong thing and so reduced it by 6" instead of the 4" I was aiming for.

The bust is bordering on snug (when tried on over a few layers of clothes), but it, overall, has some shape now.  Unfortunately, it would take more work than I want to put into it to reduce the shoulder width; all I can do now is write a big note on the pattern envelope that I absolutely should grade from small to medium, regardless of the kind of fabric used.