I have had great trouble getting myself going this week. Maybe it's the dismal weather but I just cannot seem to get any real sewing done. I broke my walking foot. I have since bought a new one but that's not the point. I find walking feet make sewing so much easier. Is it feet? Foots just doesn't seem right to me. Ah the English language!
This has been a very slow make and is far harder to sew than I expected. I suspect I have completely cocked up in fact but it will be wearable ( I hope!). There is this facing at CF that I reckon should somehow be included in the front seams but I cannot work out how to sew it with the zips so that its all one seam so in the end I just sewed it down along the overlocking on the inside to catch it in place. Last week this was still a very much just started piece. I feel I am actually making some progress now.
I sewed a channel for the (needed) pull cord at back neck. This is essential because the neck will gape otherwise since the back has a kind of half funnel shape going on and you have to pull this in to make it work. 
So this week I sewed a bit of my grey sweatshirt that was started back last January. So its taken almost a year so far - but I may yet add another item to my list of achieved makes I had planned for this year.
This is the Burda original:
Looking at the original again I seriously messed up on my front pockets too and its a bit late to try and fix them. I will have to think about that one for a bit because I have not yet sewn this up. The original seems to have them sewn on the inside at the top of the pockets. I will have to have a good look and see if that is still possible. I suspect not because of the CF seams. Still one to remember if I do make another of these. I might because I think I will probably like wearing it - assuming its vaguely presentable anyway.
This has been a very slow make and is far harder to sew than I expected. I suspect I have completely cocked up in fact but it will be wearable ( I hope!). There is this facing at CF that I reckon should somehow be included in the front seams but I cannot work out how to sew it with the zips so that its all one seam so in the end I just sewed it down along the overlocking on the inside to catch it in place. Last week this was still a very much just started piece. I feel I am actually making some progress now.
Probably I was meant to use that facing to enclose the zips but I can't quite work that out. I actually ended up sewing very close to the edge of the overlocked seam edge with a normal straight stitch, to hold this down on the inside. Hopefully it will stay attached. Otherwise its got to be a hand stitching job and I hate hand sewing.
As usual Burda do not explain so this won't be the neatest thing I ever made. But assuming I eventually make a second one then I will probably make a neater job. Burda is often difficult the first time you make something due to their totally rubbish directions so I should have expected to find this a difficult sew really.
This is the bottom of one of my zips. Seriously I am struggling with this. But I need to get it finished because it will be nice and warm and also I do not think anyone but me will know about my not quite right insides.
I sewed a channel for the (needed) pull cord at back neck. This is essential because the neck will gape otherwise since the back has a kind of half funnel shape going on and you have to pull this in to make it work. 
.
So I decided to just have a channel. The channel opens at centre side seams at the neck because I do not like rivets. They never stay in when I use them and I always end with holes and the garment goes in the bin so its really rare I use the things. Instead I go for openings at seams or button hole openings because they seem to last longer. This time its openings at the seam on the inside because it will be neater and hardly make any difference when being worn.
Incidentally I spent the last 10 months wishing I had gone for a matching zip colour rather than a bright red contrast because I know my construction has not been great. However I now really do like the red especially with matching red pull-cord and toggles so maybe you really should take this kind of risk rather than playing it safe with matching colours. I think that rather than showing up my mistakes the contrasting colour actually makes them less noticable.
With a bit of luck, and time, I will hopefully have the completed top to show you next week.
Take care and have a great week whatever you are doing,
Bracken
