Puff the Over-sized Sweater

Drafting an over-sized sweater from scratch.

When I was little, I loved to wear big sweatshirts. Like large, adult sized sweatshirts. They were comfy, of course, but mostly I adored how the sleeves would billow and blouse.

I’ve always wanted to reclaim the joy of those sweaters. The perfect fabric has been waiting in my stash – a sumptuously soft magenta bamboo hemp terry knit. I’ve been saving it for this project.

▲ the drafting process▲

I started with my torso sloper, leaving out the darts. After tracing the neckline and half the shoulder line, I shifted the pattern toward the side seam to add 1″ ease to the front and back. This dropped the shoulder seam a bit. Then I dropped the armscye 1.5″.

Next I drafted a sleeve, making it longer than usual to facilitate blousing around the cuff.

Each cuff is 3″ long and tapers a bit. The neckband is a simple rectangle. I didnt know how long to make it exactly, so I pinned it before sewing it. I relied on my muscle memory to feel out how much to stretch it, making sure it felt right, then I marked and stitched the neckline and attached it.

Usually I topstitch knit necklines with a zig-zag or straight stitch, but this time I used a long stretch stitch.I really like how it turned out!

(Listen, I know you’re supposed to use a twin needle for that. But I really dislike the twin needle! My machine can use one, it’s even fairly easy to thread up the second spool; but I’ve broken every one I’ve had and, eventually, the threads come loose, resulting in me redoing it with a single needle. Meh…)

This sweater is big and comfy, just like the ones from my youth. Its a little more fashionable than a basic sweatshirt but it’s still simple. I’ve gotten some compliments on it, too!