With the vow of a mostly handmade Christmas this year, I am busy sewing items for kids and husband and mother. Since I obviously can’t share these makes, I thought I would highlight a make that was loved by all last year – you guessed it – the Toaster Sweater by Sew House Seven.

This cozy top looks great on everyone and more importantly is easy to sew as a gift. Not only is it a quick sew, it is also forgiving on fit, which is great when one is sewing as a gift.

This is Version #1 of the sweater, with the higher collar and the band around the waist. I did both using only the serger, which made it mostly a breeze. They were both made of thick fleece, which made it a bit of a struggle to sew when it came to sewing through three thicknesses when attaching the folded over collar (2 layers), to the main bodice (1 layer). I actually basted those together by hand to make sure I had successfully caught all layers, and then since my serger knife struggled through all three layers, I had to serge at the edge without using the cutters. And I did cut back the seam allowances a bit by hand before serging. Other than that, these were a treat to sew!

I also made a beautiful white version in French terry for my mom. She loves it and wears it often. As soon as I can get a picture of mom in that I’ll add it here.

Just this year I decided to mash the two versions of the pattern, using Version #1 for the lovely collar and Version #2 for the split hem, and I love the result.