Incorrect Haphazard

So, a few months ago, I stumbled upon the random remnant patchwork creations of Get Crooked, and took special note of the patchwork bomber jacket.  Now, you know I like a patchwork bomber, but this kind, with a mix of textures, is something I hadn't done before--I had cut out a lot of knit squares with the intention of making one that would have had a little bit of texture variation, years ago, but I never did, and eventually donated the bag full of little squares.

I'm also not a particular fan of synthetic fleeces and fake furs and similar, but the use of those is a big part of the charm of the Get Crooked patchwork jackets, so I was determined to include at least a few of them, especially after acquiring the blanket that would provide fabric for the controller cardigan.  That's also why I thrifted some cheap (both in price-I-paid and construction) sweaters, parts of which I used for the recent quick hats.  I thought maybe mixing some nice textured sweater knits in with the synthetic fleeces, plus of course adding sequins, and making the color range more coordinated, might make for something in line with my general aesthetic.

It did not.  

 

 I'm not saying it's bad, just that it's bad for me.

The color mix is nice.  The texture mix is fun. The sparkles and shine are fantastic. The pattern--New Look 6120--is an old favorite.  The insubstantiality of the fleeces is balanced by the weight of the sweater knits and the sequins, so it's not unpleasantly lightweight.  I thought it would be a fun contrast to take the original super bright concept and do it in muted, but still ridiculous, fabrics, and that may not have worked so well in practice.  Honestly, though, I think what really breaks it is the fact that, for my own stuff, I don't like irregular patchwork anymore.   

I chose not to add pockets, because many past versions of this jacket have ended up so short that it's physically uncomfortable to put my hands in their pockets.  Also, even that early in the project, I could tell I probably wasn't going to like it, so pockets seemed like unnecessary effort.

I used the collar from the purple sweater as the band on the hat made from another part of the sweater, but the cuffs and waistband from that were used here.  It was a cardigan, so the center front opening of the waistband has finished edges, which I stitched to the zipper.

The cardigan's buttonholes are still visible on one side, and I know I could unravel a bit of yarn from the remains of the sweater and stitch them closed, but...meh.

I cut the neckband for this as per the pattern, as if the sweater were rib knit fabric.

The zipper maybe could have gone in better, but, at that point, I just wanted to be finished.  This pattern has the lining get closed up by sewing everything to the zipper; I usually trim the edges there really close to the zipper seam and then encase those raw edges under the zipper top stitching, but I didn't want to risk things working their way out, with how bulky and loosely-knit some of this fabric is, so the serged edges are visible, and I'm not too thrilled with that, either.

 

 I do think the fabric combinations are fun.

The combination of thick (and very synthetic) knit cuffs next to the soft and fluffy lightweight synthetic fleece makes me think of 1980s cheap rabbit fur coats.  This is not a pleasant connotation.

 

 

I knew as soon as I picked out the gray sweater that I was going to put a solid color fabric under it, both because it's so open, and to add a bit of contrast.  The bright green makes sense in relation to the colors of the controller pattern fleece...which doesn't have any purple on it, does it... 

I am glad I made this, because it let me try something out of my ordinary.

But it wasn't actually fun and I don't like it.