In the fall, while I was poking around for fabric in my stash, I came across a great piece of wool sweatshirt fleece. Yes, indeed, there is such a thing and it is gorgeous. I don’t need many wintery clothes these days, but who could resist a wool fleece sweatshirt?

Sweatshirt fabric choices

Of course, I only found a small remnant. (Are you sensing a theme here?) I would need to add something to the mix to eke out a whole garment. I found the perfect candidate in the linen box. My tenth riff on the Fit for Art Patterns Tabula Rasa Jacket (TRJ) would be a mixed media sweatshirt.

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Here is a peek at the lovely fabrics . . . the smooth and fleece sides of the wool along with the two-toned (navy-and-tan) linen.

This was a quick project, as my son was visiting from the UK and I got involved in making him what he calls a “shop jacket.”

Pattern changes

For my sweatshirt, I pulled out the same pattern hack I used for my most recent riff, the Jean-ish jacket. The only change I made was to narrow the sleeves, since I was using a knit.

When I laid out the pattern pieces, I realized I would need to make a yoke on the upper back in order to make the best use of my wool.

I toyed with the idea of creating the yoke out of the linen, but decided the cozy wool across my shoulders sounded much better.

Constructing organically

I knew that the linen would become pockets and some sort of a collar but hadn’t settled on how to make them, so I left the neckline of the sweatshirt uncut until I had figured it out. This is an idea I learned during wonderful retreats spent…