A Grainline Linden and first impressions



This is a story not so much about the Linden (what's there to say really? it's fantastic!), but about adjusting to life in the North. I've mentioned in my 2017 summary that I haven't really loved Manchester since moving here. And neither has Josh. A big part of that is that we miss our old life in the Oxfordshire countryside.

So after a few months in a Manchester suburb (nice, as far as suburbs go) we decided to have a look outside Greater Manchester, to see if maybe there was a bit of countryside a commutable distance away.

We really liked the little town of Glossop and its surrounding towns/villages, at the edge of the Peak District. With its stone cottages and windy streets and cute shops and restaurants it reminds of some of the Oxfordshire towns. But while Oxfordshire has picturesque green rolling fields, Glossop is set against the dramatic and rugged Peak District. As you can image, it's gorgeous!

(Also, we're not hung up on Oxford, but it's where we spent most of our life together, so in many ways it's a reference point.)

So we did it. We moved. And it was stressful and unsettling and exhausting. But now it feels good.


Admittedly, we've only been here a week, but I can already tell a difference. The very air feels different (colder!). There has been an instant improvement to my sleep. It's so nice knowing there is beautiful nature a short walk away from our house (as opposed to a drive away!). I'm feeling very positive about this decision.

In celebration of a good decision I took my new Grainline Linden for it's first wear, a freezing walk around a reservoir.


So let me tell you a bit about the Linden. I bought the pattern some time ago and indeed intended to make it some time ago. But then I was distracted by the Toaster sweatshirt, and suddenly it was spring and the last thing on my mind was a sweatshirt!

Last autumn I started thinking about it again, but the fabric I wanted, this fleece lined yellow cotton sweatshirting from Guthrie & Ghani, was out of stock. I emailed them and they were amazing! They got in touch as soon as it was available again. I ordered it straightaway, but I was too busy just then. So, it became my January project. I finished it a few weeks ago, but because I was packing to move house, I didn't get a chance to wear it. So as you can tell, this sweatshirt really is a story of delayed gratification!

But it was worth the wait. It kept me warm on that freezing walk, and I am wearing it now, writing this with the snow falling outside (Sunday afternoon).


In terms on construction, I cut a size 6 of view A, but omitted the waistband. It was incredible easy to sew, once I figured out why my machine was skipping stitches.

This was really strange. I changed the needle, tried both a needle for knits and a regular one, played with the tension, everything I could think of. In the end I tried another thread, and the problem was gone. Which makes me think that the cheap polyester thread I had bought was rubbish. The problem was, I didn't have another yellow thread. So I switched to a white top thread and kept the yellow on the bobbin, and that was ok. But it was very strange and cost me an hour of sewing time! Not to mention that I had to do all topstitching upside down! Luckily there's not much topstitching.

In terms of the pattern, I found the neckline band a bit too short and had to cut a new, longer one (about 6 cm longer). I'm thinking maybe my fabric wasn't stretchy enough? Also, I thought the neckline band was a bit too thin, so I added on 1 cm of width.

Other than that, this pattern is easy peasy! I totally get why everybody loves it. This is a bandwagon I'm more than happy to jump on.