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Friday 14 August 2015

A summer cardigan

Well, I know that some of you are living in warmer climates and find the summer heat oppressive but this is rarely something that happens in Edinburgh so that's why I need summer cardigans. And I'm fed up of the limited RTW versions on offer and hit and miss colours. So I thought I'd make my own.

I know a lot of bloggers have said there aren't many sewing patterns for cardigans, or jackets as they can confusingly be called which makes finding them even more difficult! So, I came across BurdaStyle's Karen cardigan and at £2.99 for a PDF I just went for it.

The fabric is a teal coloured ponte knit with a majority of viscose and a touch of lycra, there is, I think a little bit of polyester in it but it's the best I could find. I didn't add the tie belt to my version. The sleeves are also quite wide at the wrist so I slimmed those down quite a lot. I made this cardigan at least a month ago so I've forgotten a lot of the details on how I sewed it but I remember it was quite easy and I didn't have any problem with the pattern pieces. The instructions were fine but as usual I read them through and then did my own thing. The really important things to do is to follow the layout diagram for cutting out as it's cut out from a single layer of fabric. The front and collar are combined in one pattern piece. When you cut the sleeves out, you cut them one at a time and because there's a definite back and front to the sleeve piece, you need to flip the pattern piece over to cut the second sleeve. It's the same with the front piece.

I like the short fold over collar at the back neck but I'm really not sure how I feel about the hemmed edge as you can see the seam allowance, I've made the photo extra large so you can see it. I also feel that if I make this again, I'll try and have the back neck collar seam on the underside of the collar. I don't know if this is just a bad instruction from Burda, I've double checked their instructions and I've done it as they told me.

There's a nice seam detail on the shoulder that curves towards the neck. I like this bit! You can see I've done a turn over and sew hem all round the neck and front and continuing around the cardigan hem. I made this using my sewing machine as I hadn't yet bought my overlocker. Any future versions I make will be on the overlocker.

I love the colour but as I said I'm not sure about this cardigan. I don't know if I love it or hate it. I haven't work it since I finished it over a month ago and it's been sitting on the sofa since then waiting to be blogged and then waiting to be worn. I guess time will tell! What do you think about it?

4 comments:

  1. I love it! What a great colour and style.

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    1. Thanks, basically I love green/anything green-ish and things with a bit of drama about them! Big collars...something that flaps about...great! Your comment has made me pick it up from the sofa and put it on...just didn't make it out of the door with it though :)

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  2. I think it's gorgeous. But then I would -- I own a couple just like it!

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    1. Thanks Cygnoir, I think the next step will be wearing it around the flat. It is growing on me the more I write/think about it...

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