A lot of the things I sew end up being garments that I class as for ‘special occasions’. Clothes that are made out of really pretty fabrics or designs that I would wear on a night out rather than every day. This means that I often end up, certainly during the winter, wearing the same combinations of shop bought jeans and jumpers on repeat because I don’t make enough ‘basic’ patterns. That’s where the Roxy Jumper pattern from Sew Over It comes in.
Sew Over It describe the pattern as ‘your Winter wardrobe’s new best friend!’ Roxy is a simple cropped jumper which comes with various different neckline and sleeve options and is finished with a thin neckband, cuffs and a waistband. Its not a new pattern, having been out for at least a couple of years but it is one which fits the bill when it comes to sewing basics.
Fabric
Roxy is a pattern designed for knit fabrics and can be made in Ponte Roma, French Terry and medium weight cotton jersey. I have made two versions now, one from a sand coloured Ponte Roma and the second was sewn in a navy blue sweatshirting fabric. I would say that the Ponte Roma worked best for this pattern. It has enough structure and a little bit of stretch to ensure that the jumper sits nicely on the body and is comfortable to wear. The sweatshirt fabric is still completely wearable but it has less stretch than the Ponte Roma so feels a little more constricted. If I were to use sweat shirting again with this pattern I would size up to give myself a bit more wriggle room!
My thoughts on these fabrics themselves and how they wear are that neither wear that well in the sense that they look ‘worn’ quite quickly. The Ponte Roma develops bobbles or pills on the surface after the first couple of washes which is something I have heard several other sewists talk about. The sweat-shirting took on a slightly washed out look to the blue colour after going through the washing machine. Neither of which have put me off wearing the jumpers I made but I thought it was worth mentioning!
Fitting
Size wise I made a 10 which is my standard size in Sew Over It patterns and I would say that the fit is good, if a bit snug, depending on the fabric (see above!). What I would say is that the pattern is very cropped and literally sits on my waistline and no further down in my first version. In my second, I added an inch to the length of the bodice and would probably add another one next time. The cropped effect is definitely intended as part of the design and I do like that but if you are wearing jeans or trousers that sit at your waist or lower, there’s likely to be a gap between the top of the trousers and the bottom of the Roxy Jumper, unless you add quite a bit of length to the pattern. I made no other adjustments so it was a simple one fit wise!
Sewing
In terms of sewing, Roxy is very quick and straight forward and if you are an experienced sewist you will be able to make this in no time at all. If you are a beginner, I’m sure you would still be able to make it in an afternoon. All of the sewing steps are well explained and easy to follow. The most difficult for a beginner would be adding the neckband but even that seemed to go in nicely on both of my versions. You just need to take your time and use the ‘quartering’ technique which the instructions take you through.
Style
I chose to sew the most basic of the versions available with this pattern – the rounded neckline and thin, straight sleeves and this is why I class it as a ‘basic’ in my wardrobe. It goes with jeans and trousers and I can also see myself wearing it over summer dresses as a layering piece while the weather is still chilly. Colour wise I chose solid colours for both my versions to maximise the amount of wear I could get out of them. However, I can see that a patterned fabric would also look nice paired with something plain underneath. Roxy is a close fitting pattern with not much ease included in the measurements, so if you like a slightly more loose fit to your jumpers, then I would definitely recommend sizing up.
If you wanted to make it into more of a ‘special’ jumper or just something a bit different, you could opt for the bishop sleeve version with the gathered shoulder yoke detail.
In summary Roxy is a great, very versatile, little jumper pattern which helps build my 'basics' wardrobe really well and I can definitely see myself making more versions in the months to come.
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