Asmita’s Antwerp Pullover

Asmita is back with her latest sewing project, our Antwerp Pullover sewing pattern! We like how, even though this pattern was designed mostly for woven fabrics, she managed this extremely thick knit fabric with some clever solutions for the details. Take it away, Asmita!

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As is often the case, the story of the Antwerp Pullover began with fabric. A Canadian friend offered to send me some fabric with her parents who were travelling to my hometown. I had enough in my stash but could not resist her offer because it is still hard to get good quality knits here, and the prohibitively expensive shipping means I would have never ordered it. Liesl+Co had just released their fall patterns, and winter in Delhi was around the corner. It all seemed to come together quite nicely.

My experience with knits is pretty limited, but the Antwerp seemed like a good pattern to sew because first, who doesn’t want a comfy and stylish sweatshirt? And two, the kind of knit that it called for was a stable knit and I felt confident that my machine and I could handle it. Initially I was counting on making the sweatshirt for myself, but my daughter really took to the pattern I decided to make it into one of her very late Christmas gifts.

Sizing: I made a size 0 based on her measurements with a few very small mods. It’s still roomy but considering that our houses are not heated, I am glad to say that it fits comfortable over up to three layers of clothing. My initial plan was to make View A, but I made a mistake while cutting the fabric and had to sadly skip the placket.

Fabric: The fabric that she chose is called Brushed knit sweatshirt (I bought it from L’oiseau fabrics) and has a 15-20% stretch. Given the thickness of the fabric (I must admit it surprised me a bit when I received the package) I wasn’t sure if my machine could handle two layers of the thick knit, facing, and the front/back at the neckline. Hence the second fabric, which is lighter and thinner. The hood lining is flannel (Riley Blake: “Just dreamy by My Mind’s Eye,” 2009) had been in my stash for over a decade. My original plan was to make the plackets with this flannel too, but since I made a mistake in the cutting part, I decided to do a hem facing with the same fabric. According to my daughter’s style rules: using a different fabric in only one place on a garment feels like a mistake, so use it at least twice! I followed this maxim—thus, besides the hood lining, the sleeves, and the hem both have facing. This is a good idea if your fabric like mine is very thick and your machine like mine is pretty basic.

And that’s it! I know I could have sewn this with a woven fabric and probably loved it as much, but I am so glad I took a chance and stuck to my decision of using a knit. It feels like crossing a small but significant mental hurdle that I had set up for myself. My daughter tells me it is comfortable and cozy, just as a sweatshirt ought to be.

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You can pick up your own copy of our Antwerp Pullover in paper or in digital format. And we always love to see what you make with our patterns, so we encourage you to share your photos on Instagram with the hashtags #antwerppullover and #lieslandco.