Being warm and comfortable is one of my top priorities. Thus I needed the Linden Sweatshirt by Grainline Studios in my life.

I picked up the pattern while I was at the Sewcial Lounge picking up some thread. I got the black and white knit and a black rib from JoAnn’s later that night. This is definitely the most glamorous sweatshirt I own.

I shortened the arms and the torso by 1/2 inch. I also cut a 0 at the shoulders and graded out to a size 4 at the hips. I kept the sleeves at a size 0.

I followed the split hem tutorial from Grainline. I think this adds a nice level of interest to the sweatshirt.

I cut all the fabric out but I didn’t sew it right away because I wanted to wait until after Christmas because I had an inkling that I was getting a serger.

It is beautiful and I’m in love. Threading the serger the first time was a huge pain. The weirdest part is so far is sewing seams without pinning the seams. I still pin a fair amount of curved/ stretched seams or to match stripes and I don’t think pinning is ever truly going away.

Back to the sewing-

When I tried on the linden before adding the ribbing I realized that the sleeves were going to be way too long. I shortened them by an additional 1 1/2″.

Other than that there isn’t much to say – I serged all the seams. I only used pins on the neckband and on the hem. This came together seriously fast – as in 2 hours and it was my first time using the serger. It is also so comfortable that I wore it two days in a row right after I finished it.

Today in Madison, WI it is 1 degree (but feels like -18) so my friend and I went to the Olbrich Botanical Gardens to hang out in the warm tropical greenhouse and also take pictures. It was such a great idea because it was so warm and also there are alive plants. It was refreshing to see so many different shades of green!