Chainmail Sweatshirt

A sewing and knitting blog should include some content about sewing and knitting, right?

I woke up one morning in January and thought, I want a sweatshirt resembling chainmail. I know; it must be a common dream based on the number of metallic sweatshirts in the stores this season.  I might have dreamt about it because I came across this scrap when going through my fabric collection recently.

I had purchased it ~5 years ago for a costume for Iris.  Because she played one of two guards,  this scrap wasn't large enough for both of them.  I found another piece (also from SAS) that could pass for chainmail at a distance and sufficiently large to make two costumes.

With some creative layout (I hope this fabric is without nap!), I managed to squeeze the front and body pieces out of the scrap.  I backed them with lightweight gray rayon/cotton jersey for opacity and contrast.

I purchased some black cotton/lycra jersey on my last trip to Fabrix in San Francisco.  It wasn't beefy enough for the neck and bottom bands so I used some cotton doubleknit found at Trash for Teaching.  Try not to imagine the piles of fabric in my sewing room that can yield exactly the right material for my last few projects without having to go out and purchase anything extra.

Instead, let us coo at the unbearable cuteness and genius of guinea pig armor.

Look at that intimidating warrior face!

I've added the photos to my Flickr Kwik Sew 2874 set. Kwik Sew 2874 is still in print.

The pattern illustration may be dated, but the pattern is timeless and well-engineered. If you look at the Kwik Sew 2874 gallery post, you'll see this pattern has potential.  I've made it 9 times already.  I highly recommend purchasing it while you still can.