Ever since I saw the film and heard the anthem, I’ve lusted after the slouchwear aesthetic so artfully channelled by Flashdance’s Alex. The type of clothing that allows you to break into a run or slide into a yoga pose at a moment’s notice. So many life goals encapsulated – her style, her single pointed ambition, her flat, her welding skills.
I saw the pattern for this sports luxe sweatshirt in a recent issue of Simply Sewing magazine and I knew this was as close as I was going to get to living out a childhood fantasy. Not only that, it also looked like a super quick win – with only one pattern piece what could go wrong? Surprisingly, quite a lot if you decide to dispense with reading the instructions and let your intuition guide you.
The back is one piece cut on the fold, whereas the front is two pieces sewed together to enable some top stitchery. You’ll notice my front and back both have seams which wasn’t intentional – it’s because I cut them out before realising I should have folded the straight edge of the back pattern piece over 1cm before pinning it to the fabric. At this point, I’d like to point out the lack of top stitching was a considered choice. I figured the colours and contours made enough of an impact without bringing anything else to the party.
I cut the pattern on a size 14-16 based on my bust size which produced a voluminosity which did my frame no favours. Paring the underarm and waist seam to the lowest size and taking the sleeve length down one size, brought the shaping I was looking for. I overlocked the shoulder seams together and serged the front and back central panels individually before seaming with a narrow zig zag (0.5 width, 2.5 length).
My desire to clean finish my insides tripped me up on the side seams. Read the instructions here and you’ll get the result I achieved second time around when I slimmed down to a size 6-8. Here are some of the details of which I’m quite rightfully proud. Lining up the the central seam with the waistband join was a moment to savour … until I realised that shifting the joins to the side seams would have been the calling card of a seasoned sewer. Ah well – I pulled it off, so I’ll let my central lines sing.
I’m learning not to pay too much attention to the recommended band sizing as it’s all about your threads and how they work together. For the body, I sourced this French Terry Brushed Teal from Dragonfly Fabrics and teamed it with some green ribbing. The 75% differential suggested resulted in visual pollution of the highest order so I experimented a little, until I achieved the look I was after with a waistband 8cm smaller than the circumference. The neckband is reduced by 5cm and next time I’d probably shave off another cm or two for a bit more traction.
I could tell you how my second dry month of the year is going but that would eat into some valuable sewing time. What I will say is that not drinking has bought me shed loads of time which I’m itching to fill. So I’ll leave you with some pictures taken at my fella’s house this morning, living the dream in my sunday slouchwear.
Brilliant that Xxx
Sent from my iPhone
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You make me look good love xxx
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ooooh lovely. Might have to watch Flashdance later. How’s not drinking going though, I kind of want to do it too but slightly daunted….
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It’s totally daunting thinking of it for the long haul. But I just see it as a game and am seeing how long I can play it for. I played the other drinking game hard for years! Feel Soooo much better as a result. Sleep 8 hours straight and wake up with loads of energy which is NOT me! I can’t do anything if it feels like deprivation so I’m looking at all the things not drinking is allowing me to do and seeing the benefits. I know why they say one day at a time though! Never say never but so far so really good. I heard on the grapevine you might be gigging in Sheffield. Keep me in the loop! Xxx
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I forgot to say Naadia – I have no friends and I never go out. Your call.
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Nice threads Aimz. How satisfying is finishing a line of overlocking then taking it off the machine for closer inspection. Even more satisfying when it’s a neckhole I think! Love the shapes xox
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Ahhh thanks petal. I’m determined to up my overlocking skills. Booked in a day course with Janome in Stockport in May from The Love Sewing mag prize. Will share my wisdoms! Xx
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Great bum Aimee.
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HA! It’s HUGE Denise. And that’s why I generally keep it on the down low! xx
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Gorgeous, fabulous – and its got the best of the 80s about it – those colours are perfect and such an effective piece. Thank you for those flashdance memories, welding and dancing are two skills I have always envied!
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I thought I didn’t like anything about the 80’s Eimear but I’ve proved myself wrong with this one! As soon as I clapped eyes on the pattern, I knew I had to realise it. Thanks for your previous tips on neck bands – I’m getting the hang of it slowly and trying to get the feel of the materials rather than adopt a one size fits all approach. I managed to live out my dancing dreams – I was an obsessed Lindy Hopper for many years – but welding is ever elusive 🙂
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You look as if you could leap into a dance routine at any moment! Well done on the abstinence. Mr Jane Makes is sticking with his alcohol free life (apart from a couple of glasses of bubbly on his birthday and a glass of red to toast my dad after the funeral) and he seems to have become an athlete as a result! xx
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I did keep bursting into song and jumping into the air whilst wearing this get up yesterday – thankfully people humoured me and joined in the game! That’s great to hear how well your husband is doing these days – it’s amazing how people can transform through adversity and his is a really inspirational story. I hope you are being kind to yourself and thanks as always for stopping by xx
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You are one of my favorite bloggers, so I have nominated you for a Liebster Award. https://sissymack.wordpress.com/2017/03/07/just-wow/
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That’s so lovely of you – thank you – you’ve really made my evening 🙂 X
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