Sewaholic Renfrew, with added leather

I'm not huge on following trends, but I have noticed that leather has been a thing lately. So, inspired by Elizabeth, I decided to make my own leather sleeved Renfrew.

How fun is that? It's a little out there for me, but I like it! The fabrics I used are a creamy cabled sweater knit that I found at Nuttall's here in Salt Lake. They've really beefed up their offerings of apparel fabric, so if you're local, be sure to check it out. For the sleeves and neckband, I used a stretch faux leather from Vogue Fabrics. 

I used the Sewaholic Renfrew pattern, since I've had success making it out of many different types of fabric. I've never sewn faux leather before, so I didn't want this to be a pattern fight as well as a fabric fight. As it was, both my serger and coverstitch machine hated this faux leather. I turned in desperation to my vintage Singer, and she purred right through it without a hiccup. Fortunately, the fabric doesn't fray, so trimmed seams work just fine.

I think this pattern was a good choice, as I am pleased with the fit overall. The sleeves look twisted, but I think that is positional, and since the faux leather is quite stiff, it shows every movement. They fit comfortably.

I also chose to make the neckband out of the faux leather. This probably wasn't the best option, as the stiffness of the leather makes it ripple a bit, but it was a better option than the thick sweater knit, which has zero recovery. I omitted Renfrew's signature hip band in favor of a simple turn and stitch hem, which I did on my coverstitch machine.

You can see the fit from the back a little better. This sweater knit is quite soft, so it drapes nicely despite being fairly bulky. The sleeves have a tendency to pull on the armholes, which you can also see in this shot. It makes the shoulders look a bit wide. Since that visually narrows my waist, I won't complain. I think in a more stable knit, this wouldn't be a problem though.

I wore my new top today with Vogue 8330 skinny jeans, knee high boots and a hand knit hat (knit by my sister). I love these jeans, but they are starting to get a little threadbare, so it's time to replace them. Do you think it would be too much to use the rest of my faux leather to make skinnies and wear them together? Or should I stick with a more basic pant and let the sweater do the talking? Help me out, fashionistas!