Apple/Blossom Sweatshirt

When I was planning to make the loud hoodie and the dissonant cardigan, I showed pictures of the fabric to a friend, who agreed that both of the prints were fantastic.  So!  I decided to see if I could get what I had left of both of them (well, what was left of the apple print from the first order) into a single ridiculous sweatshirt for this friend.

 

 Task achieved.

I did toy around with getting more complicated with the piecing, but decided that simplest would be best.  The front is evenly split, half and half.  I had to convince myself that it was OK to go off grain ever so slightly to get some of the pieces to fit, but it works.  Print direction...well...it's fine.

The only top stitching is around the neckband, which does align with the instructions.  Not that I paid attention to them.

Well, OK, I did look at them enough to be reminded that this pattern--Stretch & Sew F832--has ¼" seam allowances, which I probably would not have remembered if I hadn't happened to see it again.

I know I don't respect this pattern as much as I should, because I tend to use it for odd projects, but it really is a good basic loose-fitting knit shirt pattern, competently drafted, in a range of sizes and variations, and I probably should use it more seriously, especially because it seems to be my only sweatshirt-style pattern that doesn't have raglan sleeves.  I just...keep forgetting about it.

I did not want to use black ribbing for the bands on this, but I also didn't want to wait until the coordinating ribbing I'd ordered had arrived, so I poked at the ribbing stash and figured this really stretchy, really soft rainbow stripe would work well with everything else.

I did not have enough to make the waistband as long as it should have been, but, instead of piecing it, I just let it be as soft and stretchy as it wanted to be, and it is very generous.

Still white thread in the serger, still don't trust the serger not to break a left needle, so still sewn on the lock stitch machine and serged for tidiness only.

I didn't have as much of the floral left as the apple, so the back is entirely apple.

The construction time took a full 64 minute playlist, and that included running out of bobbin thread a few times and choosing which other nearly-empty bobbins to replace it with.

I think my friend will be...surprised...