Burda Sweater in Grey Merino

 

This week I finished a very warm top made from some merino wool jersey. It's a lightweight, two-way stretch fabric, which I received from Our Social Fabric in Vancouver as part of their Sew & Show program. Once you've joined, they select a specific deadstock fabric every couple of months, and you can opt in if you want to participate in that round. You can make what you like with it -- this was my first project for them. 

I've never sewn with merino before so I had a hard time deciding which pattern I was going to use. But I knew I wanted a comfortable top that had a little more oomph than a t-shirt. I finally went with a Burda magazine pattern, 131 from the August 2013 issue. 

The fun part of this pattern is that there is an integrated scarf, sewn into the front piece. You then wrap that around your neck and tie as wished. It was a bit puzzling to lay out but once I found enough room to do so it went smoothly. This pattern has four pieces: the really large front, a back, raglan sleeve and neckband. It sewed up really quickly and easily! 

I had a hard time figuring out how to cut the scarf and the front seam that attaches it all together. Should I add seam allowance to this part? Thinking about Burda patterns, I realized they are always a little wide in the neck for me so I didn't add seam allowance to the scarf and centre seams, thinking that would narrow it just enough for me anyhow. And that worked. I added on 1/2" seam allowance everywhere else, as I usually do. 

Back is pretty plain - please excuse this strange pose 😄

The only other alterations involved shortening the sleeves - as always for me. I took off a full 2" here, and they ended up just right. This is a lightweight fabric, and I was wearing it with my poly knit skirt and poly acrylic cardigan so it did get a little bit staticky. Sorry for the wrinkles here, I hadn't shaken it out properly. 

Otherwise, this was easy to sew and comfortable to wear. It was very light on but also very warm. I found the scarf really comfy, it laid nicely and didn't pull at all once it was tied and arranged. A heavier fabric would probably hold the shape of this top a bit more, but I found it nice in this merino and enjoyed the little bit of extra puzzle to the pattern. I did worry a bit whether the wool would bother me as a base layer like this, but it was soft and easy to wear, not scratchy at all and as it turned out, I found it very comfortable and airy. A really nice experiment for me!

All styled up!