I’m pleased to be introducing you all to my new Marlo Sweater. It’s my first make postpartum that I actually truly love! It might be that I sewed this in the size I currently am instead of trying to make things work in my previous size. Or it might be that it’s designed to be deliciously oversized and that always feels right postpartum (who am I kidding, and always). Or it might just be that it’s a great pattern. Probably it’s all of those. In any case, I loved this the moment I put it on, loved it for the few weeks I wore it before adding buttons and love it still, buttons and all.
When I first started seeing the Marlo Sweater pop up on blogs, I liked the look but it definitely wasn’t a pattern I felt like I just HAD to have. Actually, I love the Driftless Cardigan pattern so much that I’ve just kind of subconsciously assumed I’d never buy another cardigan pattern again (I know, my subconscious is subconsciously laughing at my subconscious, and rightfully so). But I added a couple yards of this fabric to my cart a bit ago when I was making a fabric.com purchase. It was on sale and a bit of a risk, but I went for it. And when my package of fabric arrived, the second I laid eyes on the fabric I knew it was meant to be a Marlo Sweater.
Normally my fabric to pattern hierarchy is flopped where I first love a pattern and then imagine in my mind what fabric would go best with it and then forge ahead on a wild goose chase to find that mind fabric that is often nonexistent. Admittedly, it’s not the best system. But this fabric really truly seemed to be made to be made into a Marlo.
As mentioned, I bought it on fabric.com because I was buying some other stuff and this was on sale. I didn’t need it but I liked the color (a dusty rose) and I wanted to stock more knits in my stash and it was from Telio which I’m actually not certain but think it’s recognized as a fairly good brand in fabric. I bought it for $10/yard. The top side is a brushed and ribbed and the bottom side is neither, just knit fabric. I’d love to give you the name of the fabric or a link but I can’t for the life of me find record of the sale (I bought it through Amazon Prime on my husband’s account) nor can I find the same fabric on fabric.com! All of it has disappeared! But the fabric seems good quality, has significant amount of stretch (the pattern comes with different neckband pieces for varying stretch percentages; I used the pattern piece for stretchier fabric), and is very soft.
As far as sewing went, there wasn’t anything I’d never sewn before, so in that regard, everything went smoothly. I was apprehensive about the patch pockets as they’ve given me a hard time in the past. I feel like I can never make them exactly the same and I suppose my sister-in-law’s eyebrow mantra would also be appropriate for patch pockets: they’re meant to be sisters, not twins. These particular pockets actually seemed not to give me too many problems. They could be more sameish but they are similar, not to mention that I’m probably the only person who’s going to sit and eye one against the other for several moments to ascertain what the differences are. No, I think they’ll pass.
The instructions (and since I’m thinking about it, I’m going to pause here and forewarn as someone helpfully did for me: the last 10 or so pages are simply button placement guides which you may or may not want to print (I did not). Sorry. Back to the instructions) give two different options for finishing the neckband: one for beginners and one for those with more experience. I did option one and a half (not listed), where I sewed on, folded under and then stitched in the ditch rather than hand sewing the back side of the collar in place. I truthfully love hand sewing but I am at a point in my life where if there is a faster way to do something, I will do it that way. I guess it wasn’t the very fastest way so I maybe there’s something to be said for that. This method worked well and even worked with the thread I had on hand which was dusty peach instead of dusty rose. It sticks out a bit but not in a bad way, I think (you might be able to make it out in the close up photo of the buttons).
As I mentioned above I did zero fudging in the numbers department and just made the sweater in the size I was measuring (I say was because it is slowly changing; nursing is weird). I knew I could have easily sized down since the sweater’s meant to be oversized but I’ve felt an angsty desire to give my clothes a big middle finger lately so I just decided to go with what the pattern told me to do. I made no alterations and I have no regrets. I don’t know if we should be referring to the fit of a big ol’ sweater in any concrete terms, but the fit, to me, is great.
My only issue with my Marlo is I’m still not totally sure how to style it but that’s more the fault of my pants because they are still not fitting. Even so, I wear this thing all around the house and also out and about when I probably shouldn’t. I can’t be blamed, it’s just so darn cozy.
I knew I wanted a dark brown, preferably wood button for my sweater and Joann had a good variety to choose from. In the end I went with these heart buttons. I kept them in the bag and the more time that passed between me purchasing them, the more I worried they would be too kitschy. Luckily, weeks later, when I finally took a look at them again, I breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, they are hearts but they’re pretty subtle in my opinion. When I showed Ben the freshly sewn buttons he had to look twice because at first he just thought the button was broken, so yeah, maybe a teeny bit kitschy but not too kitschy. I also wanted to add that the buttons seemed to give the sweater some weight that helped the drape in a good way.
And do you like one of my new tags??? I’ve spoiled myself in the tag department! I bought the KATM tag advent calendar for myself for Christmas (um, it was SO fun!) and then I also discovered Sarah Hearts labels and bought a few packs and some fabric from her Etsy Shop. I love KATM but I especially love Sarah Hearts aesthetic and the fact that she has some great kid-friendly labels, something surprisingly difficult to find! I bought the above “Made in the Mountains” labels mostly for clothes I make for Ben, but couldn’t help using it here because it went well with the color and vibe of the make. Tags aren’t really necessary but I think they are so fun. They are to sewing what sprinkles are to cookies: fun and pretty extras. I love them and will continue to amass all the labels!
If I haven’t said it enough, this is a great pattern that I’ve worn a ton. It’s comfy and cozy and perfect for puttering around the house on a cold day but also very cute for wearing out. I see more of these in my future and I hope to try out the other view (which is still an oversized cardigan but cropped and cut so you can wear it buttoned up by itself, super cute). I think it’d also make a great gift for the right person because getting the fit right is negligible.
Pattern: True Bias Marlo Sweater
Size: 14
Alterations: None
Fabric: Telio brushed sweater knit in dusty rose
Cost: $20 for 2 yards of fabric; $6 for 6 buttons (only used 5)
Would I make this again?: Yes, absolutely! I would also love to sew the other view
pineconesandcactus.com 