Black Seamwork Astoria - Projects that just didn't work out.

Hi Friends!

Sorry for my brief blog hiatus, I was busy crushing my midterms at school. All work and no play, unfortunately, means no time to sew, so I have an older project to show you. Heads up, it didn't quite turn out the way I wanted it too.

When the Seamwork Astoria pattern first came out, I was in love.The high-waisted vintage style works so well in my wardrobe, and the boat neck is really cute.

The issue with this sweater is it doesn't fit. In fact, I committed a cardinal sewing mistake while picking out the fabric.

I didn't check the stretch percentage before I bought it.

It seemed to stretch when I got it a hold of it in the store, but there is a strong possibility I was hypnotized by the idea of a textured knit like this in my price range. I was so hypnotized I also bought enough of this fabric to make a second version in white. 

Yeah... Ouups.

Turns out the knit barely stretches, and the fabric is a little scratchy. And here I am with a finished black sweater that doesn't feel all that great, and another white one all cut up and ready to sew. That's right guys, I even cut the second sweater out already. I was really planning on this project turning out well.

All of my own foolishness aside, I'm trying to find ways to salvage this sweater. The most visible fit issue in my opinion is the weird sleeves. I already had to cut the sleeves shorter so  I could get my arms into them, but there still is this weird twisty thing going on there and I have no idea where to start on that one. If I make it into short sleeves, I know I'll never wear it. Who wears a short sleeve sweater in Canada?

The other fit issue, that's not so visible, is that this sweater is almost impossible to get on. It involves a lot of shimmying and sucking in, and it always gets stuck underneath my arms causing ugly deodorant stains. This is the main issue, because as you well know those little marks are nearly impossible to get off of the black fabric.

Sorry for being gross. But it's true. Aside from this, though, the sweater looks fine once it's on. It's definitely not awful. So I'm looking for an idea to salvage it.

I'm thinking a short exposed zipper, maybe in gold, would look really cute along the back, and would alleviate the whole issue of not being able to get the shirt on.

In terms of the white sweater, cut out and sitting in the wings. I'm thinking I could maybe use some contrast fabric? Fun floral sleeves, maybe?

Do you guys have any ideas? Let me know down below or on Instagram!