Papercut Bowline NY Circuit Sweater

I was very taken with The Papercut Collective Bowline sweater from the moment I saw it. Being a home grown New Zealand pattern company do feel I should support them.  Although generally I think Papercut are aiming for a younger demographic than me there are a few of their patterns I have bought and made. It has taken me nearly a year since buying the Bowline paper pattern at The Fabric Store to actually create a garment from it.

The finished garment
This is a really great basic t-shirt type top but the bow gives that extra little bit of interest I am always looking for in my clothes.
 

The fabric
I used a cream medium knit, with a pattern of black dots and marigold / beige crosses, for the body of the sweater and the neckband. This fabric is another fantastic AGF cotton knit with 5% spandex, bought last year from The Sewing Workshop.  It is called NY Circuit and makes me think of the punched cards used for programming computers in years gone by.  Love this description by AGF: an elegant palette of azure, marigold and black, Gramercy eloquently captures the magic of the city. Shimmering lights, aerial views and the beautiful circuitry underneath it all create a metropolitan enchantment that sculpts this collection.

I wanted the bow to be the star of the show so used a black rayon knit from Silhouette Patterns for the sleeves as it makes the body of the top stand out more.

The pattern
Papercut describe the pattern as inspired by seafaring knots and bow waves, our Bowline Sweater offers structure and casual wear rolled into one. The unique pleated front is a show-stopper and would suit print or plain fabric alike. This fun sweater comes with a raglan sleeve, self-waistband and wide cuffs.

It is rated for skilled sewers but I think anyone could make this if they worked slowly and methodically through the pattern instructions and blog tutorial.

The pattern alterations
I used a size small for the shoulders and raglan sleeves tapering out to a medium at the waist and hips.  I think there is enough ease in this top that I could have used the small throughout, even though my measurements align more closely with the medium.

Not being a big cuff fan I eliminated the sleeve and bottom bands by extending the length of the body and sleeves.  I tapered the sleeves to be the same width as the cuff at the wrist. For the body I made a slight high low hem with a 2.5" shirt tail in the back.

The sewing
Not only did I use the pattern instructions, I also followed the picture tutorial on the Papercut blog.  Most of it was simple to sew, it was only the bow that took a bit more thought. The pictures on the blog really helped as I struggled to get a picture in my head for that step from the instructions.  I made mine on the overlocker just using the straight stitch on the sewing machine (with a ballpoint needle) for the sleeve and bottom hems.  I think it would have been easier to sew dart A and seam B using the sewing machine and then use the overlocker when sewing them together. Live and learn.

The styling
Worn with my Andrea Moore doggy skinny pants, and Katie 'n Me jungle print booties with red heels.

I prefer it with my Andrea Moore black cropped skinny pants and Trippen Fight shoes.

My beloved started to loose interest in taking photos at this point hence the arty leaning angle.