EAT+SLEEP+MAKE: Slouchy Diamond Raglan

After making the "Hug It Out" Raglan shirt for Connor, Haley needed a new sweater as well. She is like her Daddy, warm blooded and rarely cold. Many days, I will be sitting downstairs in the living room and Haley will go to her room and swap out her pants for a skirt in the middle of winter while I'm cuddled under a giant blanket with the fire on. If I had let her, she would probably be wearing a skirt in this picture as well :)

For my warm-blooded munchkin, I decided to make a short-sleeved raglan sweater, but with a looser, more relaxed fit than the "Hug It Out" raglan I made for Connor. While I was at it, I also added a gold geometric heart on the front using Silhouette's glittery gold heat transfer material. I'm totally on a gold kick lately, and I'm sure this won't be the last thing I add gold to :)

I absolutely love this design - it's the "heart diamond filigree" from the Silhouette Design Store, and it really makes the sweater I think. I can't wait to use it on other things, maybe something for me?

If you want to make a slouchy raglan sweater, you can refer to my tutorial on how to draft your own raglan then tweak from there, or you could always modify one of your favorite raglan patterns - one of my all-time favorites, if not my very favorite pattern ever, is See Kate Sew's Recess Raglan. I love me a good unisex pattern :) Just remember - you'll want your pattern that you plan to modify to be more of a fitted one because we're going to be adding width to the neckline and sides. If your beginning pattern is too loose, you may end up with a neckline that is too wide resulting in an off-the-shoulder top. And that's cool too, just not quite what I was going for.

SUPPLIES: 3/4 yard sweatshirt knit (for a size 6, more or less depending on the size you're making), 1/4 yard ribbing for neckline, iron on heat transfer material for the design on the front (optional)

To Modify Your Bodice:

ONE: first, fold your fabric in half. Take your bodice pattern and place it 1/2-3/4 from the fold. Cut and repeat to make a front and a back.

To Modify Your Sleeves:

ONE: take your original sleeve pattern and cut it down the middle as shown.
TWO: insert a rectangle of fabric 1/2-3/4 inches wide in the middle and tape.
THREE: this is what your new sleeve should look like! Cut two.

Now refer to my raglan tutorial to assemble your shirt!

For the cuffs and hem of the shirt, I simply folded the hems to the outside, rather than the inside, to add some visual interest. You can see how much looser and more comfy this shirt is than a traditional raglan.