So WAAAY back in January, I wanted to do a long cozy sweater for a work project for Valentine’s Day. McCall’s M7476, in specific.
“Sounds great!” said my boss. “Are you going to make it red or pink?”
Um.
“Put a heart on it?”
Er, no…
Grum. So I floundered for a couple of days. You could wear the sweater over your sexy lingerie. I didn’t really feel like doing full-on lingerie. Over a crop top and leggings out of something red? Doable but a little boring.
How about over a slinky velvet dress for an at-home date night involving champagne, a roaring fire, and possibly a bearskin rug? Ooo yes! (Hey, if I’m imagining the champagne and fireplace, why not the bearskin too?)
This was SUPPOSED to be a super quick and simple project I could throw together in a day or two around all the other commitments I have going on right now. Cry. It wound up being less simple.
First, I spread out my chosen fabric and realized that the subtle marled cotton sweaterknit I’d fallen for was in fact a subtle stripe. (Also, that gorgeously matched pocket up above? That’s the one I sewed on upside down. )
The I spent a lot of time stabilizing things I probably didn’t need to (like the dropped shoulders) and the upper collar, and not stabilizing things I should’ve, like the undercollar. Not quite sure what I was thinking.
The Nettie dress underneath was supposed to be simple and quick as well, just blinged up with the shiny chain, but then I had the idea to make a deep scoop in back.
And then that was sort of loose and flaccid, so I wound up adding little jump rings to hold the lacing. Which works and looks cool but kinda distracts from what I was going for.
Anyway, there’s not a lot more to say. Both of these were simple projects (relatively) with minimal fitting. All I did to the sweater was add sleeve length; for the Nettie I find I have to take about 1/4″ off the height of the shoulders. If I did the sweater again I would blend out a size larger in the hips, but it actually looks better in the photos than I had thought.
Tanit-Isis Sews 
Ya, I’m not a fan of pink or hearts, I like this fabric better! Nice work with the pattern changes. It’s a new look.
Thank you! I love red, pretty much all the shades—this was definitely more fun than sticking a heart on!
Love this outfit! The long-over-short layers! Cozy sweater! Idea of roaring fire and champagne! Dress very cute, but ‘no back’ gave me a shiver (only because it is supposed to be -17 here this weekend, although maybe that is with the wind-chill).
This outfit looks great. I recently had a wadder that I couldn’t fix. It doesn’t happen very often, but it’s frustrating when it does. You did a great job of tweaking yours.
Cozy and warm is probably one of the BEST THINGS EVER when it’s cold and gnarly outside. Love the sweater and the dress!
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