Beala!

I have had alot of fun this weekend with the Fabenmix Beala pattern I bought over at Crafty Mamas. This was my first Euro pattern and I love it. Its a bit different because the instructions aren't in English so you follow along as best you can ( with the help of google translater!) and by looking at the pictures. You also trace the pattern off the master rather than cut the pattern up because the pieces overlap each other.

I was so excited to give it a go that I tried to get by using the red fleece I had in my stash that I bought a while ago at the op shop. I realised after cutting some of the pieces out that I wasn't going to have enough to make the entire thing so I decided to get a bit creative. A while ago I was window shopping and I saw what I thought was a red fleece tunic/sweatshirt top that was like a vest with a hood that went to the knees. I went inside for a closer look and realised it was nothing like what I thought it was. It was a thin material, not fleece and it sat differently. It got me thinking though that I would love a red tunic top that was casual and warm. I decided to go ahead and sew the Beala but without the sleeves. I used red stretch material to finish off the arm holes neatly and I lined the hood with the same material. I made the rounded hood version, not the one with the tail. I am pleased with the end result but it i way too big. I have taken it in a bit and I will take it in more after I wash it in case it shrinks. As usual the pic doesnt do it justice. For some reason the colour red never photographs well at my house. The top is not quite as red as in the picture. Oh...and excuse my background mess (kids playroom eek!!!!) and my posing. I was getting lessons from Chloe. She is so cute!

So after this creation I decided to give it another go with some grey fleece I got from the op shop too. This time I traced out a smaller size and again made a vest/tunic style. I didn't have any matching stretch material so I didnt bother lining the hood and this time I just folded in the arm holes and straight stitched around. I LOVE the fit of this one, I think it will get lots of wear. I had alot of trouble sewing the hem and the arm holes though and my stitching isnt very straight.

After the success of the grey tunic I was curious about what the top would look like if I made it as it is meant to be made. I used yep, you guessed it, material from my op shop trip. More fleece! This time I had enough to do sleeves as well but Im not as keen on the colour. I used the smaller size that I had traced which turned out to be a problem because the sleeves ended up being too tight. I ended up having to unpick the underneath of each arm and add a strip of matching material. Im actually quite impressed with myself because when I have the top on you can't even tell! This time I zig zagged the hems and they are much better. I love this jumper but not the colour as much. I think Ill have to go to spotlight or pop back over to crafty mamas and see if they have something a bit special I could make it out of. I have certainly had alot of practice with it now!