Sweatshirt Fleece Warmth with Bri of The Lilac Needle

February 10, 2022

Hello sewing friends! 

Hard to believe we are already in February of 2022! And let me tell you, it has been COLD here in New England. So cold that I wanted to make something that would keep me warm and had a zipper which I have been avoiding for quite some time for no apparent reason. 

First step in my planning was to pick a fabric that will keep me warm. I have a bunch of DBP, French Terry, and Athletic knit on hand, but none of those really can do a great job of keeping you warm during this season. I went on RCF’s website to just see what other bases there were that could provide some sort of warmth and stumbled across “Sweatshirt Fleece” which is exactly what I was looking for. It is a medium weight fabric, but as a true sweatshirt fabric, would provide the warmth I was looking for! 

Now that I knew the fabric base, I next needed to pick the fabric pattern and instantly fell in love with Grey Sage Teal and Peach Pink Vintage Tropical Floral Heathered. It was stunningly beautiful and I knew exactly what sewing pattern to choose that would go with this print so well, the new Genevieve Patreon pattern from Sonia Estep Designs. 

What I liked about this pattern was that it came with a side zipper and a unique look compared with your typical jackets. It also worked out that this pattern specifically called out Sweatshirt Fleece as one of the recommended fabrics, it was meant to be! 

Working with this fabric was extremely easy and I didn’t have any issues with the construction of the Genevieve at all. I would like to point out though that the fabric does not have a ton of stretch. Because of this (and because of how cold it was and I love layering) I went ahead and made one size up from what my measured size was (a 10 instead of my usual 8). While I miss out on having a more form fitting look, for pure functionality and warmth I am super happy with sizing up by 1 size. 

One great thing about this Sweatshirt fleece is how warm it actually keeps you! I was actually quite surprised how comfortable my torso was when taking these photos, as it was -2 degrees fahrenheit at the time. My hands were quite cold, but overall I was very comfortable! When my hands were in the pockets which were also made from the sweatshirt fleece, I was not bothered by the cold at all. 

I found this jacket to be overall very easy and came together very well with the fabric from RCF. When you have a fabric that is both lightweight and warm, you really can’t do much better! 

Fabric:Grey Sage Teal and Peach Pink Vintage Tropical Floral Heathered

Pattern: Genevieve from Sonia Estep Designs (part of their Patreon Program)

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