Itch to Stitch Bainbridge

We are having a La Niña winter, which means warmer than usual where I am. In fact, I’m writing this post out on the sunny patio in a cotton blouse and jeans. But I made this fleece pullover anyway in case it does get colder, or we take a trip this spring. 

Bainbridge is a cute pullover because it combines fleece or a stable knit with a woven placket and bias bindings, so you can trim it up with any of your pretty woven prints. I used part of a dress that I never wore for my woven bits. It happened to be a fantastic coordinating color for my light weight fleece. The embossed design fleece had the brand name Rainbeau, and it is ultra soft as well as being warm. 

This design has bust darts, so the fit is a little more refined that most RTW of this style. The lower front is a separate pattern piece, which makes the placket easy to sew. Pockets are also easy to sew.

The pattern also calls for snaps, and I had just enough of my old Snap Source supply left to do up the front. Snap Source is no longer in business, so their snap setter tools are now in the trash. I wish that didn’t happen so often. 

Alterations: the bust dart needed to be lowered, and I needed extra room at the hip. In the instructions they cover how to blend sizes, but the procedure seemed really convoluted to me. I just slashed and spread the pattern lower front and back to gain the extra room. The thing to remember is that then the pocket needs to be redrawn so that the bottom edge matches the bottom edge of the lower front. They both end up being bound together with bias tape. 

Would I make this again? I don’t know. For some reason, after cutting this out, I wasn’t excited about working on the project. This is not the fault of the pattern; I think I just don’t like working with fleece. But I have a rule I’ve stuck with for a couple of decades now: I don’t get to start another garment, not even cut it out, until I finish what I’m working on. This has kept me free of UFO guilt, which is so easy to lapse into. Beginning something is fun and exciting. Finishing is tedious and hard. 

Anyway, I know I’ll be glad to have this top the next time we go to Big Bend in the winter. It’s super soft and snuggly.