Cosmos Sweatshirt by Sew House Seven
I had the wondrous pleasure and privilege of pattern testing the Cosmos Sweatshirt by Sew House Seven. Ever since sewing up one of these for myself, it has been challenging to keep it a secret until the pattern launch. Whenever I wear this out, I get multiple compliments from complete strangers, and my husband repeatedly tells me how special this sweatshirt is whenever he sees me wearing it.
The Cosmos Sweatshirt is a raglan sleeve sweatshirt with a wide bottom band. There are 2 versions available to sew up in this pattern – one with a funnel neck, the other with a curved neckline that is finished with a neckband. There are options for the sleeve as well – one is a bell sleeve and the other finishes off with wrist cuffs. I sewed up the version with a funnel neck and bell sleeves, and I must say that the finished result doesn’t really look like a sweatshirt to me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mean it in a bad way. In fact, what I mean to say is that the shape of it elevates it beyond slouchy loungewear. This is a stylish top that I’d wear to a smart-casual dinner. Throw on a nice pair of pants and it’s an outfit that would be presentable at work or a respectable function. Best of all, it would still give the wearer all the comfort that sweatshirts offer.
For this elevated loungewear look with the funnel neck and bell sleeves, the choice of fabric is a crucial one to make. Peggy of Sew House Seven recommends that the knit fabric should have at least 20% stretch so that the funnel neck can fit through the head easily. The fabric that I chose was a Ponte Roma Double Knit in a Dark Olive-Grey tone. It has a mustard coloured checked pattern that is on a one-inch grid. This is a medium-heavy weight fabric, and the composition is made up of polyester, viscose and elastane. As such it has lots of structure and none of the sloppiness of a lighter jersey or knit material. This lends a boxiness to the sewing pattern. With this fabric, the bell shape of the sleeve is clearly defined, and the funnel neck stands tall and proud. A knit material with more drape will give this pattern more softness and fluidity. I love my Cosmos Sweatshirt sewn up in this knit that I’ve been gifted by Minerva as part of the Minerva Brand Ambassadors program. The stability of the knit made it very easy to cut up and sew with this Ponte Roma, and since it has a cool hand, it’s quite perfect for this transitional time of spring. I am pictured here with my sweatshirt paired up with my Plateau Joggers by Closet Core Patterns which you can read about it here.
Sizes for the pattern come in size 00-20. I sewed up a size 2 of the draft of the pattern that was sent out to pattern testers. This version actually fits me quite well. The only thing that I changed was to take in ½’’ more at the seam allowance at the bodice and the bottom band. As a result, the length of the sweatshirt was shortened by a total of one inch so that the bottom edge of the bottom band would end at the level of my hips. This also shortened the width of the bottom band, which I thought was too wide for my short body. The bell sleeves end about 2 inches above my wrist line. Some changes to the sewing pattern have been made since that first draft that was sent out, e.g. widening the funnel neck for some sizes, the change in the length of the sleeves, etc.
The only thing that I am not completely happy about with this make is that I fudged the pattern matching of the tiny checks at the funnel neck where the sleeves meet the bodice. Usually, I am super vigilant with these details, so it annoyed me quite a bit that I didn’t get it completely right. I contemplated cutting out more fabric for the sleeves but decided that that would be a complete waste of fabric, and so I stuck with the mis-matching and decided to let myself off the hook for it. Lines don’t have to be matchy-matchy all the time. This is now the wabi-sabi component of my garment.
Overall, the sewing job didn’t take up that much time at all. It was a very quick sew and it took me less than half a day to cut it up and sew it up. Another bonus about this pattern launch is that it coincides with a free pattern launch from Sew House Seven – the Elemental Pencil Skirt which is made from a knit fabric. To get it, simply subscribe to the newsletter on the website. I haven’t tried out the pattern, but it looks like it matches the Cosmos Sweatshirt perfectly. So go check it out. This sweatshirt is another fun and easy make, with unique design details from designer, Peggy Mead. It gave me a few hours of joy making it and even more wearing it. Happy Sewing!
