Pink Sweater with Half-Zipper

 I am finally ready with my third project of the Make Nine plans for the 2025 - the pink sweater.

Last year I made a pink hoodie for Gaby out of a big piece of sweatshirt fabric and I had quite a significant amount of it left - and I hate wasting fabric. My plan for it was to make another hoodie for myself, using the same iconic Burda pattern. 

Once I took out the pattern pieces, it became obvious, that if i didn't want colorblocking and insisted on having a solid color sweater out of this piece of fabric, I had to make quite a lot of changes and compromises. I could not have a hood and the cuffs and hem had to be cut out of ribbed fabric. I also had to shorten the sweater a bit and then also narrow it a bit - this was not a big problem for me, as I am petite and the pattern is quite wide. Finally, either the front or the back had to be cut in two separate pieces. I decided to make it a simple sweater with ribbed cuffs and neck, so I cut the front on fold and made the back with a seam. Luckily, I had some ribbed fabric, which was almost perfect match to the main fabric. 

Then, when I was almost ready with the sweater and was debating with myself whether to add the kangaroo pocket or not, I googled cropped sweaters and came upon plenty with half-zippers. At this point I had only cuts of fabric left, but the idea of adding a collar and half-zipper kept gnawing at me. I abandoned the project for a while and let it stew.

Meanwhile I bought three more or less suitable zippers, watched probably a dozen of videos on sweaters with half-zippers and in the end constructed my own collar and lining. I was able to cut four pieces of the collar and two triangular shaped pieces of lining for the zipper out of the fabric remnants. Thus the inside of the zipper and the collar came out very neat. I am really pleased with the result and plan to make more half-zipper sweaters in the future, as I quite like the style.

Pattern: Hoodie 102 Burdastyle 03/2022 plus elements of Burdastyle 113 09/2020

Fabric: sweatshirt knit

Size: 36, - 6 in width, -3 cm in length

Time to make: one month

The collar can be worn turned, opened or fully closed, but I think I like it best half open and up. I made the collar curved, wider at the base than at the top, using the collar from Burda 113 09/2020 as a model. However, most of the video tutorials I watched used simple rectangular collars, so next time I make this type of zipper, I might try it that way, to test the difference.

The kangaroo pocket is also from the Burda 113 09/2020 hoodie, which I've already made twice. However, because my sweater is cropped, I had serious doubts about adding it, as in its full size it went almost up to my bust. In the end I decided to cut off 5 cm from its height and add it anyway and I am pretty pleased that I did it, as it brings the ribbed cuffs and the body together and adds some interest and sports vibe, which I like.

Despite all the compromises I had to make, I am really pleased with how this sweater turned out and I expect to wear it a lot, especially with ashes of roses being one of my favourite colors ever since I read Thorn Birds at the age of 14 :)

We took these pictures today in the yard of the local monastery - yes, we have a small monastery in the area. Our residential quarter was once a village right at the outskirts of the capital, with its own church, school, market place, community center, a monastery and even its own graveyard. Most of the houses are long gone, replaced by apartment buildings, but the focal points of communal life are still preserved, snuggled between the tall buildings. In some respects, despite the wide boulevards and subway station, it still has the vibe of living in a village and we love that.