My last sew of 2017 was a 100% belgian product:
both the pattern and the fabric are "homegrown".
I used an amazing pattern from a belgian sewing book: "Stof-Voor-Durf-Het-Zelvers 3".
That roughly translates into "fabric/ideas for dare it yourselfers". Griet's first and second book were my guides for the first dress I ever made for my daughter. I made her first communion dress by following her guidelines too. She's awesome!
The pattern for this sweater is pure genius.
Your average sweater pattern has 4 pattern pieces: front, back and 2 sleeves (we're not counting the ribbing). This one is made of 3 pieces. And with those 3 "exotic" pieces, you get a sweater WITH a front pocket. You can see a bit of the magic on picture of the back.
The picture next to it shows my son's favorite feature: a "tunnel" pocket. You can shake hands in it or squeeze both arms through and get a rather weird pose.
The side seams don't go straight down either in this unusual sweater. They come from the back to the front and magically make the pocket too.
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The fabric is from "All Animals Are Equal", a collection by the Belgian company
Chat Chocolat. They make very soft french terry. As a Game of Thrones lover, I fell in love with the crows right away. I showed the release pictures to my son and it only took him half a second to decide it: OK!
I used a tutorial by Riet (
Leven met Liv), the creative mind behind Mind The Whale to add thumbholes to the sleeves.
She's also Belgian, so that makes this a triple belgian sew!
A fitting end to a great sewing year!