My "Luxe Sweatshirt" (semi) Winner!

McCalls 6614

A better pic of the fabric up close:

My favorite local fabric shop, Haberman Fabrics, hosted a "Luxe Sweatshirt Contest" this month, so I quickly gathered my supplies and got to work. The only requirement was that 100% of the fabric had to be purchased at Haberman's.  I found some gorgeous coordinating fabrics: a wool blend knit (like a very fine sweater knit or thick jersey in black and taupe) and a sparkly lurex tweed. 1 1/2 yd of wool + 1/2 yd of tweed = Comfort and Sparkle!

There are 2 rounds of contest voting... Round 1 was by "facebook likes" on the Haberman Fabrics page.  Then, Round 2 requires the Top 5 to bring their shirts and a panel of judges will score them based on "Creative use of unexpected fabrics, unique design and neat construction". Top 5 get $25 gift cards, and 1st place gets $100 gift card, a $70 notions package, Kai scissors and exposure to Haberman customers.

With only 8 shirts entered, the odds were in my favor, I landed in the top 5 and won a gift card!

The only trouble I had was trying to decide how to hem it.  The "woven/knit" combo was a little tricky, and I didn't want to roll it (making it fat).  I serged the bottom edge, and used "Steam a Seam" to hold it in place (I hate when knits stretch under a straight stitch), and then did a very subtle zig-zag.

It wears like a nice sweater, very soft and comfortable and the hem line says "top" instead of "sweatshirt" since it's not banded and bulky. I'm happy with the sleeve stripe and love the way it pairs with both jeans and khakis.  A definite "winner", regardless of the contest's outcome!