It’s sew-along time! As the air chills and the idea of standing over a hot iron and sitting indoors to sew once again becomes pleasurable, it’s time to think of sewing cozy sweaters! (Or, in the case of the Southern Hemisphere, it’s time to start thinking about light spring sweaters!) We’ll begin the sew-along for our Finlayson Sweater on September 1st.
If you are a novice sewer and would like some guidance and reassurance as you tackle your first knit garment, this sew-along is for you! We’ll discuss fabric and notion choices and sources and we will talk about choosing the correct sweater size. We will photograph, in detail, each step necessary to create the cross-over hood and collar (it’s way easier than you might think!). We will take a look at the different tricks and materials that can make your sweater appear professional and wear well – you’ll be able to examine clear elastic, twill tape and other stabilizing choices and I will show you how to apply twill tape (or ribbon) to the neckline to cover all seams.
I’ll be sewing two sweaters for this sew-along – Variation 1 and Variation 2…both for myself! Yay! So be prepared for some girly fabric choices and some fun, feminine additions to this sweater. Matt’s closet is already too full of Finlaysons (he has four already!) so I’m looking forward to adding these to my own!
Without further ado, here is the sew-along schedule:
Monday, Sept. 1st – Choosing your fabric and supplies
Wednesday, Sept. 3rd – Preparing your pattern and fabric
Friday, Sept. 5th – Sewing the neckline facing and shoulder seams
Monday, Sept. 8th – Preparing and sewing the collar or hood
Wednesday, Sept. 10th – Adding the neckline twill tape and sewing the kangaroo pocket
Friday, Sept. 12th – Sewing the sleeves and side seams
Monday, Sept. 15th – Finishing with the cuffs and hem band
Tuesday, Sept. 23rd – Your finished Finlaysons!
I hope you’ll join me for this sew-along! If you have any specific requests or ideas that you would like me to include in the posts, please don’t hesitate to ask by commenting or by email!
Thread Theory 
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September 3, 2014 at 6:19 am
I’m in- better late than never!
September 4, 2014 at 12:03 pm
It isn’t too late to join 🙂 The sew-along will be around indefinitely for your use and as long as you submit your photo of a finished Finlayson before October 1st, you can qualify for the contest prizes too! Happy sewing!
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August 20, 2014 at 1:15 am
Yay! This will be such a fun project. I love the pattern, and could absolutely use the guidance to do it justice.
August 19, 2014 at 4:37 pm
Yes I will join in this too! Love the studio 😀
August 19, 2014 at 7:28 am
Hi!
I’m going to join this sew along! 🙂
It is the perfect Christmas present for all my male relatives 😀 😀 😀 and I still have time to practice!
Since I’m a novice sewer and I don’t get along well with self imposed deadlines, I might take more time than just 4 weeks, but I’ll manage 🙂
Lets get started 😀
August 19, 2014 at 7:36 am
Yay! I’m glad you’ll be joining us! No worries about sticking to the deadline, the sew-along will be up for your use indefinitely 🙂 Great idea to make these for Christmas presents! You won’t have to worry about fit too much because it is such a boxy sweater – as long as the shoulders are a good fit the rest is bound to fit just fine!
August 15, 2014 at 8:46 am
I really like the neckline detail on this sweater. And this is very off topic, but I like Matt’s hair!
August 15, 2014 at 9:01 am
He’ll be really glad to hear that! There’s a pretty silly story behind his hair cut – I told him I would trim his hair slightly before the photo shoot so it suited the aesthetic we were going for. He headed to the bathroom to ‘prep’ his hair for me by taking off a bit of the bulk…and I walked in to see he had trimmed down to almost NO HAIR at the sides of his head!!!! EEEEK. We didn’t quite know how to salvage it but figured you can’t really go wrong with a high and tight :P.