Grasser Patterns Turtleneck Top

I was immediately intrigued by this Grasser Patterns turtleneck top when their Autumn/ Winter collection was showcased a few weeks ago on Instagram. This is pattern 1267, and I surprised myself by liking the exposed seam detailing as it’s not something that piqued my interest before.

With this design, I could see the potential for easy adjustments where I often need to make fit changes. The centre front seam on a grown-on turtleneck seems to me like a much better way of drafting that style of neck because it allows for shaping that’s more anatomically correct. Human heads tilt forward, so the seam is angled…makes so much sense in my opinion. The centre back seam allows for back curve adjustments too, so good also.

For my fabric choice, I pulled out a lovely merino wool jersey from my stash in a soft teal-y, blue-ey green shade (great description, huh? 🙂 ). The thing with this fabric is that although it is stretchy, it’s purely mechanical stretch, because there’s no Lycra in it. Obviously, this influenced my size choice, because there’s negative ease in the design, as with most knit patterns, but probably too much for the way my fabric behaves.

The sizing on Grasser patterns is quite different to UK or Euro sizing, so I consulted the measurement charts and ended up picking size 46, which turned out to be a good choice. I decided to be extra careful, though, and do a mockup of the neckline area just to be sure of the fit around there and the shoulders.

I found some offcuts of merino jersey leftover from a previous make, and I just cut out the top third of the pattern. I’m so glad I did this because my thoughts about the stretchiness of my fabric were totally justified…it turned out that to pull the top easily over my head, I would need a bit more circumference around the neck. The back neck width was okay, so I left the centre back seam alone, and instead, I added a bit more to the neck sides and the centre front seam.

Next, I tested out the settings on my overlocker for the exposed seams. One thought I had about what thread to use was that it could be nice to use a fuzzy floss overlocker thread for extra seam coverage, or you could stitch with a contrasting colour too. I did neither, though, and just used what I already had in my thread collection. On my overlocker, I used a 5-thread setup, a fairly wide cutting width and a stitch length of about 3. Differential feed was set between normal and very slight ease.

Sewing up? Well, what can I say? It was very easy to make. Having sewn knit tops by Grasser before, I knew the drill, and for the most part, it was absolutely fine. My only criticism is about the sleeve head. I compared the sleeve patterns of my other knit tops by Grasser (this one, for example) with this one, and for some reason, on this design, the sleeve head has quite a shallow depth. Nevertheless, I cut it out like that and basted the sleeves in to check the fit. Immediately, I saw that it wasn’t fitting quite right. It looked like the body was having to ease slightly into the sleeve, instead of vice versa. It turned out to be a straightforward fix. All I did was drop the lower curve of the sleeve head where it met the underarm seam by about a centimetre, and it didn’t spoil the fit of the upper arm width.

The instructions state that it’s up to the individual sewer how you finish the hems of the top. Grasser’s image example has no finish at all, just the raw edge. I decided to keep the edge of the funnel neck like that so that it stretched over my head really easily, but I did do a finish on the sleeves and lower hem. I decided to go with overlocking to match the exposed seams, and I rather like the effect because it keeps the theme going.

I think this turned out to be a really successful and enjoyable project. I’m delighted with it and I like the colour a lot. When I’d finished sewing it, I hung it on the back of the door in my sewing room, where my yellow Vikisews shacket was hanging also, and the colours really popped off each other. Can’t wait to wear that combination out in the wild 🙂

Ok, I hope to be back again in the not-too-distant future with another project. As you can tell, my sewjo is back with a vengeance, hehe. So, how’s your sewing going? Let me know in the comments.

See you soon!