This was the first test Jarrah sweater that I made for myself, and as a result, this herringbone Jarrah is probably been worn the most. I’m not sure if you can tell but the sleeve shape at the cap is a little different in this one, and the shoulder isn’t as dropped as in the final version. I wasn’t super happy with it and I’m really glad that we altered the fit. I had actually bought this fabric to make the final pattern sample and misjudged how much fabric I would need – which meant that by the time I had cut out one for myself I didn’t have enough left for the sample. I was pretty upset with myself until I realised I had some coordinating grey sweatshirting in my stash. We ended up cutting just the front panel of the final Jarrah sample from the herringbone knit and the rest of the sweater from the grey sweatshirting and I love how it turned out. Definitely one of those happy accident situations!
The fabric was originally from KnitWit, but as I bought it back when we were developing the pattern over a year ago, I don’t believe it’s available anymore. The neck ribbing is also from KnitWit – I know I’ve said it a million times, but I love that they have such a big range of ribbing colours.
The funniest thing about this sweater is that I never actually finished hemming it properly! I keep saying I’m going to, and yet here I am, and I still haven’t top stitched. On the day I was making this sweater I used some hem stabilizing tape (my favourite knit hemming trick!) and ironed it along the hem and also the sleeve hem. It was just before school pick-up time and I didn’t have time to topstitch before running out the door – but I really really wanted to wear it. So I did! And I just kept wearing it all winter and every time I took it out to put it on I thought, oh I better topstitch that hem! And then I would forget all over again. I must say it’s a real testament to the long wearability of the fusible hemming tape – because this sweater is now 18 months old, has been washed and worn repeatedly, and the hem is still holding up fine with nothing but fusible hemming tape.
As a sewer, it feels wrong to be living with such a hacky hem finished… shouldn’t I sew something? Finish it properly?! And yet…at this point, I think I should just admit that I am never going to hem it properly and just enjoy it ;)
If you’re wondering what the moral of this story is it’s this: Always check your yardage before you cut to make sure you have enough for all your planned projects AND go buy yourself some fusible hemming tape!!
photography by Bronnie Joel
