A Letter From Michelle: The Amanda
A Letter From Michelle
The stitching follows the picture.
The one thing I check on anything quilted before it goes on the rack, why the Amanda is a single picture instead of a pattern, and why it is $59.95.
Every season somebody brings me a sweatshirt with a painting on it and asks what I think.
I always look at the same place, and it is never the picture. I look at where the stitching goes.
On almost everything sold as wearable art, the artwork is laid on the surface and the stitching ignores it completely. The same diamond grid, or the same straight rows, running over the design as if it were not there.
The Amanda is quilted, and the quilting follows the picture. That is the whole reason it is in the store, and it is the one thing a photograph from across a room will never show you.
Five things I would not give up on.
Look at where the stitching goes
Inside the sun the stitching runs in rings, circling out from the middle. Where the bands of color fan away from it, the stitching turns and runs straight along them.
No standard grid does that. It is the thing you see first at the kitchen table, and the thing you will not see from across a room.
“The pattern has so many little details that I notice something different each time I put it on. I especially like the bright yellow against the purple. A fun top for coffee with friends or an ordinary afternoon out.”
Beverly N., StauntonOne picture, not a pattern on a roll
The sun sits on one shoulder and everything else fans out from it — across the body, down both sleeves, up over the hood, and on across the back.
A print on a roll repeats. You find the same motif four times and the seams cut it in half. Here the print is placed, so the shoulder and the back belong to the same picture.
“That yellow sunburst is what sold me. Such a cheerful change from the plain sweatshirts I usually wear.”
Janet L., Appleton“I bought this for a casual weekend visiting friends. We weren’t doing anything fancy, but I wanted something more interesting than my old gray pullover. The mix of purple, turquoise, and yellow caught my eye. I wore it with jeans and kept everything else simple. It felt very much like something I’d choose just because I enjoyed it.”
Joanne K., WausauEven the drawstrings match
Look at the two cords in the photograph above. They are patterned, not the flat white rope that comes as standard on everything else.
It is a small thing, and it is not what comes as standard — which is the kind of detail that tells you what the rest of the piece is likely to be.
“I’m usually more interested in comfort than patterns, but this one appealed to both. The relaxed shape is comfortable when I’m sitting at my desk. I also like having the hood when I step onto the porch for a break. The long sleeves give me the coverage I want. It’s nice to have a cozy pullover that I’m equally happy wearing out of the house.”
Donna R., LovelandRoomy on purpose, not roomy by accident
The cut is relaxed through the middle and the sleeves run long, gathered in at the wrist.
Take the size you usually take. It is cut generously already, so there is no need to size up for room.
“I like a hoodie with room around the middle, and the Amanda has that easy feel. Comfortable over a tee without looking like I’m wearing all my layers at once. The colors are lovely with dark jeans.”
Sharon F., Hendersonville“Soft, warm, and pleasantly roomy. I’ve been reaching for it on mornings when the house feels chilly.”
Carol T., OlympiaXS through 5XL, one price, and it goes in the machine
Nine sizes, all the same price, and it is machine washable on a cool wash.
One honest word, and it is the only warning I have. This is the loudest thing in the store. If what you want is a layer nobody remarks on, I would not send you this one.
The Amanda, against a printed sweatshirt
| A printed sweatshirt | The Amanda | |
|---|---|---|
| The stitching | A grid over the top | Rings in the sun, lines down the bands |
| The design | A repeat, cut by the seams | One picture, placed |
| The hood | Plain, in a matching color | Carries the design over it |
| The drawstrings | Plain white rope | Patterned, like the rest |
| Sizes | S to XL, then nothing | XS through 5XL, one price |
Why we are clearing them out now
The Amanda lists at $299.95.
But the store turns twenty this year. My daughters Julie and Amy are both at the counter most days now, which I did not let myself count on when my husband and I opened the doors in 2006. We want to mark the twenty years by handing something back to the women who kept those doors open, so the Amanda goes out at $59.95.
★★★★★4.8 out of 5 — from 3,369+ reviews
$299.95$59.95
20th Anniversary Sale — Save 80%
- Quilted, with the stitching following the design
- The design placed, not a repeating print
- Drawstring hood, with the design carried over it
- Patterned drawstrings, not white rope
- Long sleeves, gathered at the wrist
- Relaxed cut — true to size
- XS through 5XL, one price
- Machine washable on a cool wash
- Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee
Listed as the Wildflower Quilted Hoodie · every size the same price
One more thing, and then I will let you go.
Go find the brightest printed thing in your closet and look at the stitching rather than the design. See whether a single line of it has anything to do with the picture.
On almost everything, it will not. That is the difference, and once you have seen it you cannot stop seeing it.
So run that test on the Amanda the day the box arrives. If it fails, send it back inside thirty days and we will refund you.
With love and gratitude,
— Michelle · The Hayes Family Hamptons
SEE THE AMANDA — $59.95 →This is a personal letter from Michelle Hayes, co-founder of The Hayes Family Hamptons. Customer reviews are quoted as written. · Free UPS shipping · 30-day money-back guarantee.