JAM 4: TSW eShrug Version 2

...and this one's a keeper!

After posting the first one, Terri K and Jane M suggested that fleece might not be the best choice and to try again with a different knit. Since my choices in Albuquerque are limited, I headed to another JoAnn's near Cottonwood Mall. No skull knits there, but they did have an assortment of "mohair" sweater knit in the red tag section. Most of the colors were cheap-looking, and it was obviously not from nature. However, it felt soft and there was black, so I brought some home. It's heathered, with little white fibers among the black, so white cat fur will not show! It only looks gray because I lightened the photo to show detail.

After prewashing and drying, I laid the fabric out Sunday afternoon. It was only 58" wide, just a touch too narrow for the main pattern piece. Don't you hate it when that happens? As it happened, I had read a tutorial about cutting knits crosswise earlier that day, so that's what I did. And it worked! Thanks, Marcy Tilton! The pattern piece also suggested this solution, since two grain lines were provided.

I also changed the sleeve from cap to full length. It suited the fabric and will work better for an upcoming visit to Chicago this weekend. I basically winged it by pinning the original sleeve in place, laying my TNT t-shirt sleeve over to gauge the length, then chalking the new cutting lines right onto the fabric. No pictures since I was working on black in the evening, but if you all want me to, I can work up a little tutorial. What do you think?

As before, the sewing was quick and easy, just shoulders and sleeves. I left the edges raw. Technically, this "mohair" is knitted like french terry; it has a stockinette side and a looped side. There was some shedding around the edges where loops were cut. I ran the shrug through the laundry again after completion, which has solved the problem.