5 Out of 4 Patterns: Fleece Pullover Blog Tour

Hi all you 5 Out of 4 Pattern fans! I’m excited to be able to show you my version of the fleece pullover! And there’s a sale! All patterns are 30% off! Read on through to get the discount code.

Disclaimer: I received the pattern for free for participating in the tour. Confession: I am completely addicted to participating in blog tours; they help me to actually complete projects and stick to deadlines! All opinions are my own of course! This post may contain affiliate links. All affiliate links are marked with an asterisk *. For more information on my use of affiliate links check the Disclaimer – Legal Info tab under the About tab.

This is my first time using a pattern from 5 Out of 4 Patterns* but it won’t be the last! I’ve been eyeing the Agility tank and the riptide shorties -they would make a great swimsuit paired up! And I could use a fleece pullover* for myself.

Originally I was going to make a pullover for Silly Bean but I didn’t manage to finish hers before she went back to school after the Christmas holidays so with it getting dark when she gets home from school I knew pictures would be impossible. So, Plan B! Make a fleece pullover for Little Miss V! (Luckily it was already in the works.)

Miss V love love LOVES owls. So I found this owl fleece on Fabric.com as I couldn’t find any locally. (And of course added in some stuff for me, I won’t lie, although with the exchange rate and getting hit with duty fees for the first time I may be sticking to the local shops for the time being.) The owls are HUGE btw. I thought they were going to be only like 2-3 inches but some are like 10″! (My mistake I didn’t look at the ruler in the listing). So I decided to make the plain front version so that I could showcase at least some of the owls in full. She was so excited I was making her another owl shirt that she wanted to wear it before I had even added the sleeves! (Other owl tops/outfits I made are here, here, and one I apparently never blogged).

Miss V is in between sizes 2 and 3 so I sewed up the size 3. The sleeves are a little long on her, but I won’t bother adjusting them as I figure she’ll grow into the length eventually. Otherwise the fit is great. It’s roomy enough to layer over another shirt.

The pattern has two versions: the plain front like I made and a fun colour-blocked version. I definitely will try the colour-block version when I can get some fleece in a smaller print. It also has optional side pockets as well as an optional hidden pocket if making the second version.

Other pros:

• printing using layers (only print the size(s) you want!)
• use of illustrations as well as photos (I find illustrations easier to understand)
• clean layout making it easy to read and with clickable links so you can jump between sections in the tutorial
• pattern pieces easy to glue/tape together

Cons:

• It involves zippers! Zippers are not my forte (read more below)

I messed my zipper installation up somewhat. Tried to pick it apart and stabbed myself in the thumb right at the edge of the nail bed (Bled for days. No, not really, I exaggerate, but 12 hours later it still hurt). While resewing it I broke a needle. The little piece of needle is somewhere under the bobbin holder. After trying in vain to fish the tiny piece out, I gave up and finished it up and left any new bad stitching around the zipper stay. In hindsight I probably should have used a stronger needle to handle all the layers during the zipper installation. I should have probably found a magnet to help me get the tip of the needle out.

So, I would rate the Fleece Pullover* an advanced beginner/intermediate pattern. With the zipper installation being the trickiest aspect, if you’re more experienced at doing zippers it should be easier for you.

Get 30% off any 5 Out of 4 patterns* until January 17th 2016 using the code “fleeceforall” now through Jan 17th as they celebrate their 1 year anniversary!

Check out the other blog tour stops below:

1/10/16: Larissa from Connected by a Thread

1/11/16: JaNette from Merri Poppins

1/12/16: Ula from Lulu and Celeste

1/13/16: Tibeca from Sewing by Ti

1/14/16: Melissa from Rebel and Malice

1/15/16: Heather from All things Katy and Patricia from Sew Far North

1/16/16: Essence from Adventures with Bubba and Bug

You can purchase your own copy of any of the 5 out of 4 patterns here* for 30% using the code “fleeceforall” now through Jan 17th as they celebrate their 1 year anniversary!

Don’t forget if you’re shopping online to sign into your Ebates account! You can get cash back on all purchases on Fabric.com, usually 3% but sometimes they run specials and it’s more. If you don’t already have an account you can sign up here if you’re in the US: Ebates.com* or here if you’re in Canada: Ebates.ca*. (Or do both like me) In the past year I’ve earned back roughly $50, and it probably would have been more but I have a bad habit of forgetting to click my links first, lol. Don’t be like me!