Want to hear my confession? I sewed up 2 Sheridan Sweaters at the beginning of last year. Aria’s was made from black sweater knit and mine was made from french terry. She wore hers so much that it’s completely threadbare, and she’d requested another one. I’d worn mine once. Since our sizes and styles aren’t that much different, I couldn’t figure out what the deal was…until she let me wear hers for a day. And then I understood the difference the right pattern and fabric choices can make.
Ever since she let me wear hers for a day, I was on the hunt for some good quality sweater knit fabric. Some of our favorite sources for consistently good quality knit fabric are Style Maker Fabrics, Raspberry Creek Fabrics, and CaliFabrics and knitfabric.com
When I saw this Navy slubbed sweater knit from CaliFabrics, I snapped it up in two different colors as fast as I could. The navy for me, and the black for Aria. The fabric is a poly/rayon/spandex blend with 100% 4 way stretch. It is a light midnight fabric. Let me explain what each of those things means when making a Sheridan Sweater.
The polyester in the fabric means it’s more durable than rayon alone. The rayon makes it softer than soft! The spandex gives it good stretch and recovery. These three substrates mean it makes a durable, soft, comfortable sweater that doesn’t sag or get stretched out through the day.
The 100% 4 way stretch means that a finished Sheridan Sweater fits properly both around the body and down the length of the sweater and sleeves. One thing that I disliked about the first Sheridan Sweater I sewed was that the sleeves and waistband crept up through the day. This was because it only had 100% stretch in 2 directions (across the fabric) and not 4 directions. (Across the fabric and up and down the fabric.)
The lightweight weight of the fabric means that it lays against the curves of my body instead of standing out stiff. And it means those bishop sleeves float and flutter when I move my arms!
Overall, I now agree with Aria’s assessment of the Sheridan Sweater when it’s sewn in a lightweight sweater knit! This one will be worn, and worn, and worn and worn!
If you’re paying attention, this is the first completion on my Make 9 in 2021. Here are the details:
Top Pattern: Sheridan Sweater by Hey June Patterns
Top Fabric: Navy slubbed sweater knit from CaliFabrics
And other note…in another one of my Make 9 for 2021 there was a Sheridan Sweater in baby waffle knit. Yes, I sewed that one at the same time, but then had an *unfortuante* incident where I offered to give it to Allegra and she accepted it joyfully! Oh well… 😉
Skirt Fixation 