After a challenging project, like my winter coat, I usually turn to a simple one as a pallet cleanser. It helps to clear my mind of the residual buzzing thoughts that come with a complicated project.

There is something relaxing about sewing someone else’s pattern -like floating down a lazy river, letting the instructions gently guide me along, instead of paddling the rapids of my own creations.

This time I chose the Linden sweatshirt, which I’ve been seeing online and meaning to try. I don’t have much experience with Grainline – I made their blazer a couple of years ago – but they seem to be a solid pattern house that I could trust, meaning no muslin.

I used this really cool fabric – an organic hemp jersey from designer Kelly Lane. Sorry to say, I got this at a local boutique which is the only place to buy this fabric, it feels really posh, but I’m just lucky the shop owner is super awesome and has access to it. (support small shops if you can!)

Linden requires 20% stretch; this fabric has maybe 2%. To account for the lack of stretch, I cut a size 8 instead of a size 4. (To be safe, I did a little math first and size 8 is roughly 20% bigger than size 4. Bingo!)

I had to add a little length to the neckband to make it fit, cutting it on the bias to get as much stretch as possible. The sleeve cuff and hem band both fit without adjustments.

It’s a great basic sweatshirt – comfy and fits well. I’ll definitely make more in the future!

Thanks for reading <3