A Blog for the Perpetually Frustrated Home Sewist

Love Letter Sweater (Pattern Review)

Hello everyone and Happy Valentine's Day! Today's post is a Valentine's themed sweater with an envelope-shaped front pocket. Valentine's Day is one of my favorite times of year (second only to Halloween), and I love all of the red and pink hearts that are present in stores and decorations this time of year. And unlike Halloween, Valentine's Day clothing items can sometimes be worn easier throughout the entire year, so I love stocking up on home goods for my apartment during February. 

Anyways, this sweatshirt is a recreation of the Pepaloves Sealed with a Cozy Sweatshirt that was previously available on ModCloth. I first saw this sweatshirt a few years ago and fell in love with it, but it was long sold out, so I decided to make my own. Keep reading below to see more information on the materials and construction process, including a review of the Basic Sweatshirt Pattern by Tienda De Patrones!



TikTok 

I've decided to make another TikTok for this project. I'm not sure if I enjoy using the app yet, but it's been kind of fun to make a couple videos with. Anyways, if you're interested in viewing my videos, my username is @readytoswear. I'll embed the video down below! 

@readytoswear

some Valentine’s Day sewing fun 💌 here’s my love letter sweater ##sewingproject ##valentinesday ##alternativefashion ##diyfashion ##手作り服 ##ソーイング ##diy ##isew

♬ Baby Pink - Moe Shop

Let's get into the actual construction down below! 


INSPIRATION 

Here are some photos of the original Pepaloves sweatshirt. I fell in love with it when I saw it! My primary focus was to recreate the envelope on the front.  


I changed the overall shape of the envelope. The one I ended up with does not open or unbutton, because I didn't feel this was necessary. 



The original was $75! So, if you've got any of the materials lying around (or a blank sweatshirt), it  can be comparatively cheap to make this sweatshirt!


PATTERN, DRAFTING, AND MATERIALS

I was very fortunate that I had a lot of the required materials already! I had a large amount of leftover baby pink sweatshirt fleece from a previous project, so I didn't need to acquire much else. The heart patch on the envelope came from a patch pack on Amazon JP, and I've used the leftovers for a number of other projects now. With these two items out of the way, the only thing left was to find some white fabric for the envelope. 

As I mentioned in my last (and other) posts, it can sometimes be a little difficult to find certain types of fabric here in Miyazaki. Sweatshirt fleece is one such fabric. So, the easiest option for me to find a coordinating white fabric was to cut apart an existing sweatshirt, as my only other option would've been to order online. I got super lucky and found a white kids' sweatshirt at my local Aeon mall on sale for only 300 yen (about $3 USD). I felt a little bad about cutting apart a perfectly good sweater, but I think I actually wasted less fabric by using it than if I had purchased new fabric online. 


The next step was to find a sweatshirt pattern. I didn't need anything other than a basic sweatshirt pattern, so I found a downloadable one on Etsy for only $2.50. The pattern is from Tienda De Patrones and is called the Basic Sweatshirt for Women. It's a basic pattern that comes in sizes XS-XL (roughly bust sizes 32 to 40 inches) and is in both Spanish and English. It's a simple pattern that wasn't hard to understand, but it's worth mentioning that there are no instructions provided with the pattern. This is clearly explained in the product description on Etsy, so it's no surprise. The PDF for the pattern pieces was easy to understand; however, I  did have some trouble with the scale settings and printed the first few pages a couple times. I chose to make a size XL ( I didn't want the L to be too fitted), and I believe it fits true to size. Also, the sizes are color-coded in the pattern, so they are easy to see and cut out. All in all, it was an easy-to-use pattern for a cheap price, so I would recommend it to others looking for a basic sweatshirt. However, I might not recommend it to total beginners, as it might be easier to follow a pattern with accompanying photo instructions. 


Here are some photos of how I drafted and sewed the envelope pocket. I changed the shape a little bit to make it easier to sew. Unlike the original, the one I created doesn't open from the top. It's only a front pocket with side openings for hands. As shown in the photos, I drew and envelope and then cut and sewed it accordingly. 



This wasn't the perfect process or draft, as I'll discuss in more detail below. 


THE PROBLEMS 

There is much room for improvement on this project. For starters, the sweatshirt length ended up being slightly longer than I wanted. This resulted in the sweatshirt fitting a little unflattering on my body type. As someone who is pear-shaped, cropped sweaters (that are fitted to my waist) tend to be more flattering. I was aware of this before sewing the sweatshirt, and I had planned for it to fit differently, but it didn't quite work out that way. I considered hemming the bottom of the sweater without adding the band, but once the envelope was added, the sweater would have looked a little strange (I think) without having a little more length. I may eventually remove the bottom band anyways. If I were to sew the sweatshirt again, I would probably make the pocket a little higher, and perhaps make the sweatshirt more fitted, possibly by sewing the top one size smaller. If I combined this change with a more cropped hemline, I think it would be much more flattering and I wouldn't feel the need to adjust and fold the bottom while wearing it. 

My second mistake was not using actual ribbed knit for the neckline, cuffs, and hem band. I used the same self fabric for these pieces, so there is not much stretch in these pieces. The sweatshirt would look and feel a little more professional had I changed this, but using the self fabric did save me the cost of ordering matching trim. The third and final mistake involved the stitching on the envelope piece. The corners ended up looking a bit sloppy, and I could've corrected this with a little more care and cutting the corners with extra fabric. 

All of this said, I think it would be super easy to fix the problems that arose during the construction process. There is nothing too complicated about the envelope-shaped pocket, and it could be applied to any sweatshirt. Perhaps if I feel motivated to remake this project at some point, I make a quick tutorial here on the blog! Would anyone be interested in that?

 Despite my disappointment with some of the results, the sweater is quite comfortable. I've worn it a few times now and it's easy to wear for a long time. I also think it styles relatively easily with the other items in my wardrobe. So, I have no regrets about this project! 


OUTFIT DETAILS 

For those interested, let's take a closer look at the outfit details. 

Because of the fit of the sweater, I tried to pair it with flattering items. I matched it with a red pleated skirt and I tucked the bottom of the sweater for a slightly cropped fit. I then paired this with a red beret, heart shaped lolipop earrings, and my white Unique Vintage pumps (with red heart clips that I made for a previous project). 

Here's an example of how I wore it when out on an errand. I've styled it almost the same, but I wore slightly different heart earrings. 



And, because Valentine's Day is coming up, here's what my current nails for this sweater look like. 


CONCLUSION 

In the end, this was a fun and fairly simple project. I think this is definitely the kind of project can be completed in a day or so, given that you have all of the materials on hand. However, getting some of the details exactly right may take some time. 



As always, thank you for checking out my blog! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to let me know down below! 


To see more of my heart-themed projects, please click here

To see more of my indie sewing reviews, please click here

1 comment

  1. Would love a tutorial from you! Turned out super cute.

    ReplyDelete

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