Sew U Home Stretch - raglan sweater

Yes, I'm back with more pink. and with another make I'm really proud of.  This was a lot simpler than the wool skirt though!  This is the Raglan Sweater from the Sew U Home Stretch book. I  bought some beautiful knit fabric from Faberwood with birthday money earlier in the year which was earmarked for this pattern but I wanted to do a trial run first.  On my way to search the local fabric shops for sweatshirt fabric I stopped in one of my local charity shops and found a pink men's medium Reiss sweater with grey ribbed cuffs, waist and neck band. Too big to wear as it was and the grey ribbing looked very tired and worn but the pink fabric was really good quality. At £5.99 it was quite pricey, but then I was in the British Heart Foundation shop AKA the most expensive charity shop in Walthamstow. And really, it's easy to lose perspective when buying second hand - £6 for a jumper isn't much at all is it, especially given the alternative of buying new and adding to consumer waste/landfill, not to mention the working conditions of the garment makers. So I happily handed over £6 and the jumper went straight in the wash when I got home. The grey ribbing didn't look any better after the wash but luckily I had this lovely golden yellow/orange ribbing that I bought from Kitschycoo Fabrics a few months ago (along with some black and some red).

Although this was a relatively quick make I took a bit more time than I usually do with knits and pressede seams as I went along rather than just at the end. I think this made a difference with the bulkier material so I'll be doing this next time I make this sweater. I also used the overlock stitch ony Bernina to finish all the seams. I keep meaning to try the lightning stitch as I've read good things about it, has anyone else used this? I'll need to remember next time. 

Summary -

Pattern: Raglan sweater from Sew U Home Stretch Built by Wendy book, a Christmas present from my husband

Size: small 

Alterations: None

Fabric and notions: Pink sweatshirt from charity shop £6, ribbing from Kitschycoo £5 for 1/3 of a metre (I still have plenty left for toddler projects), thread from stash

Any changes I'd make next time: nope, none at all.

Total cost: £11

Has anyone else used this book? I can't wait to try some of the variations. A few of them look really dated but most of them are pretty classic. There's a plain T-shirt,  a Breton style top, and a hoody that all look great!

This has been worn a few times already and I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it during Me Made May if you follow me on Instagram! I hope everyone that's going MMMay this year is having as much fun as I am!