Nyoka Crossover in Plaid

I’m seriously into plaid right now, which I find weird. It doesn’t sound at all cool, but come on. Look at the colors on this. They’re so much fun. The striking contrast of light and dark with that splash of pink, and the heathered-looking gray. I must make more things with this. I got 3 yards of it so I have enough for another project, whatever that might be.

The first make had to be another Nyoka, though.

About the Fabric

Pop of Pink Plaid Brushed Sweater Knit Fabric from Boho Fabrics.

• Weight: 8 oz
• Horizontal Stretch: 100%
• Vertical Stretch: 50%
• Poly, Rayon, Spandex Blend

I have to say it’s a good thing this fabric is so striking, because I borderline hated working with it. The cut edges roll, but that would be tolerable if not for the way it catches on ev-er-y-thing. I’m not sure why, but the slightest rough surface—even skin—catches on some kind of invisible fiber. This wrecked havoc while sewing because those invisible little fibers would catch on the feed dogs of my sewing machine and cause this:

Meaning I had to stop constantly to tug it flat. /eyeroll

Ignoring how it behaves while sewing, I love it. It says it’s brushed, but it doesn’t feel like it compared to other brushed sweater knits I’ve worked with. It’s definitely lightweight; it’s not going to keep you warm on a freezing day. But hey, who cares about freezing when you look this snappy.

Notes About This Make

• I drafted some long cuffs for the sleeves rather than hemming. I like the double layer provided by cuffs, and I think they give a nicer finish than hemming. They also feel better than having a hem around your wrist.
  • It was an easy enough mod. I just cut my sleeve pattern piece at the point where I wanted the cuff to start. Then, using the end of the sleeve I cut off, I traced out one half of that piece, then measured and drew in the reflected vertical half to create the standard fold-over cuff shape.
• I used the same mods for the skirt as last time: shortened by 7″ and redrew the sides so they flared out the same amount as the original skirt.
• The bottom hem is folded up a total of 2″ to eat away a little more of the length.

Notes for Next Time

• The cuffs—and whole sleeve—could stand to be fitted. They’re a bit on the baggy side, so next time I think I’ll reshape them, more to the tune of my 40K Sway Tunic.
• Reiterating my previous post about crummy Wal-mart thread; do not use thread from Wal-mart even if it does say Coats & Clark. My word, the number of times the thread shredded or tangled and caused a jam… Uhg. No projects for me this weekend that use black or white thread. I’m committed to waiting for my Wawak thread to arrive.

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