Sunday, March 19, 2017

and when I opened my eyes

Circa June 2015, the next big development in sewing for me was the Grainline Studio Linden pattern.  I think I'd come across the pattern while hunting for more Liberty sweatshirt fleece.  I had made a handful of circle scarves out of the Liberty sweatshirt fleece for Christmas 2014 and was fairly enamored with it.  It's hard to come by, though, so I was hunting for it (probably to make a boxy tee; I think I had visions of a long-sleeved one).  While hunting, I came across the amazing Lindens in Liberty on the Make Something blog.  I think this one was the first to catch my eye, though there are a number of amazing ones.

That sold me on trying the Linden, and I found some delightful Art Gallery knit (another Leah Duncan print: Mojave) to test it out.


I was totally hooked.  I loved the great instructions from Grainline and how they walked me through making a real top so it wasn't really hard at all.  I also really loved the Art Gallery knit fabric and promptly purchased a ton more.

Though I loved that first top, it became a pajama top pretty quickly as it was a wee bit too short.  For future knit Lindens, I lengthened by 2 inches which was a great length for me.

I subsequently made 2 more knit Lindens for me, 1 for a gift, 3 Liberty Linden sweatshirts for gifts and 2 woven Lindens.

For one of my knit Lindens, I used the split hem tutorial from the Grainline blog.  I like the idea in theory but the hem pieces stuck out a little bit like wings so I'd need to fine tune that if I were to try it again.




That shirt has basically been relegated to casual wear after it pilled pretty badly from friction from my backpack on the hike seen above.

I don't have a picture of my favorite Linden though I probably wear it about once a week.  {Update: picture available here.]  I also only have one pic of the gifted Liberty Lindens.


For the Liberty sweatshirting, I found that it was best to cut the neckline long and on the bias and then figure out the right length.

The woven Lindens were fun to try, though I'm not sure I'm going to spend the time to get the fit just right.  They are both a little tight.  



One is made from more Cotton and Steel rayon and the other from the other piece of Liberty that I got on our honeymoon.  I still need to make myself a Liberty Linden sweatshirt!

Next time: the reason why I won't bother perfecting the Linden for woven fabrics.

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