Seamwork Astoria Top

I've been meaning to post my first Seamwork Astoria Cropped Sweater for a little while now - I actually sewed this one up a few weeks ago - I just keep forgetting to get some pictures of it!  The weather is kind of crummy today and I'm not really in the mood for taking pictures of myself, so here are some pictures of the top on my dress form.

This top was SO easy to whip up - with the exception of the neck band.  I totally screwed up the neckband on my first try, and had to cut it out and sew a new one.  The fabric I was using didn't have quite enough stretch in it, so I had to cut the neckband piece a bit longer than called for, otherwise I would have been over-stretching the fabric and it would have turned out wonky.  Once I got it in properly it looked great!

As the Seamwork website says - this pattern should only take about an hour to sew.  If it weren't for the neckband mistake, this would have definitely fallen within that, from cutting to hemming the sleeves.

I haven't worn this out yet since it hasn't quite been cold enough for the fleecey fabric I used.  It does go really well with skirts, and should be nice as a pull-over on a dress if I'm not feeling like wearing a cardigan.

I will definitely be making a couple more of these, but will likely lengthen them by and inch or two so that I can wear it with jeans and not have some tummy peaking out at work!

Another thing - I've struggled with sleeves in the past, but these ones turned out great!

Here's a couple more photos - and a sneak-peek of the Hollyburn skirt I sewed last week - will post about that soon.