Tag: cardigan

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Longest Lived Me Mades

I’ve definitely waxed on and on that I worked in a costume shop during college.

One of the many advantages is the availability of excess fabric that qualifies as scraps. And that’s what both of these cardigans were made from, over a couple of weekends about 6 years ago.

cardigans

They’re both an earthy green, because it’s one of my favorite colors to wear, and I guess I was able to get sizeable enough scraps of pretty much the same color!

sideround
(PS We’re back with the blurry photos… I’ve learned my lesson, I promise!)

I think the first one I made was what I call the “round” one, because it’s got rounded edges on the fronts. I knew what the general shapes should be for front, back, and sleeves. One weekend I went into the shop when I knew it wasn’t going to be busy and I just draped the fabrics on a dressform and cut the vaguely right shapes out. The front and back fabric has a nubbly texture, and isn’t very stretchy, while the sleeve fabric is, so I’m glad I made that choice.

backround2

The one thing I remember from that weekend is that I put it on and immediately found it super uncomfortable because it wasn’t reaching around my back all the way. So I cut straight up the middle of the back piece and added a rectangle of the sleeve fabric. And then when I tried it on, I didn’t love the volume of the addition around my waist, so I made a couple tucks!

sideround2

To finish the neckline and armbands, I turned each over once and sewed it down. For the circular area of the front, I just serged it.

It has been a staple of my wardrobe for years. The downside is that I made the arms a touch too short, but I almost always shove my sleeves up anyway, so it works as long as I’m not in the middle of winter, I’m good.

sidedrape

The other one was based off of a blog post I found through Pinterest (and have since seriously lost track of) where it laid out the way to cut out this cute cardigan with exposed seams and a facing detail that was pulled back by buttons.

frontdrape

My fabric is more flimsy, and I was super new to interfacing, so I had no idea that the buttonholes would be super flimsy… but they are. Going in, I did know that I wanted full length sleeves… but more on that in a sec.

backdrape

I made up the cardigan, taking care with sewing down seams (both exposed and not) with a zig zag stitch, and I used some pearly buttons at the shoulders and a very special button for the front.

combodetails

This button was part of my very first purchase from Mood Fabrics. My mom and I had watched some Project Runway while I was in high school, so during a trip to NYC, I met with my parents and my mom and I dragged my dad to Mood for a quick look around. On a next to nothing student budget, there was a lot I could dream about buying, but I did purchase some lace and this button. I keep thinking I’ll scalp it from this cardigan someday, but I haven’t found another good thing to put it on!

Remember how I said that I wanted full length sleeves? I found out that I couldn’t, not with that fabric, so I found another fabric, that I think was a grey or a black, and it didn’t have stretch. As a newbie sewist, I was naive and thought it’d work out. I made what could be considered sleeve extensions. They were uncomfortable, and they were

A couple months later of not using the sweater, I decided to unpick the weird sleeve extensions and here we are!

Six years with these, and here’s to more!

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Blue Winter Susanne Cardigans

I’m obsessed with cardigans.

As if you couldn’t tell… and those are just the sewn ones. And not even all of them.

And I’m always in search of the perfect cardigan pattern.

The Susanne cardigan from Compagnie M. certainly hits many of those marks.

I had these sweater knits that have been burning a whole in my stash for about a year. And I wanted drapey cardigan to go with them. I had thought about the new Grainline one, but it wasn’t perfect for what I wanted, and I searched the internet far and wide.

When I found this one from Compagnie M. I immediately purchased it as the short version hit exactly what I wanted for these knits. Then the problem became finishing the seams.

Sweater knits enjoy unraveling, in my experience, and my serger isn’t really in working order.

When the new makerspace opened up in my building on campus, I was pleased to find out they have a serger! (Among other fun things, such as the laser cutter that I’m incredibly obsessed with. As in all the Christmas gifts…).

My sweater dreams could finally come true.

The aqua was first, and the pattern made a sweater that was wearable, but big. I serged around every piece, and folded over the edge and tacked the neckline/pocket edge. The armscye was a bit large and loose, and it was too big along the back shoulders. And a bit long.

After wearing it a bit, I decided to take in the back and raise the entire cardi. I did this haphazardly, at the serger (which I don’t recommend), and I lopped off the top of the sweater at both the front and the back, and I cut into the back to create a smaller back. Overall, it had the effect that I needed and it’s a lovely cardigan to wear.

So when I brought out the navy knit, I made those changes to a traced pattern, to normalize them a bit. Otherwise, construction was the same, with serged edges for each pattern piece, except I used a marine blue bias binding around the neckline and pocket tops. It definitely makes the cardigan more stable, which makes it super comfy, and the pockets are potentially more useful. Not much, but they can hold the weight of my keys in one, and my phone in the other, so that’s a plus.

I’d like to try the other variations in the future… and maybe the long version, if I live in a cooler climate next.

Altogether, between the Susanne and the Julia cardigans, I have patterns that will probably serve me the rest of my life.

With a few others sprinkled in of course. Constant pursuit of perfection and all…

**Coming in with part 3 of get projects posted in 2016 when they were made… Part 4 (My coat!!! Squee!!) should be up sometime tomorrow, and then I’ll post my review of 2016!

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Amber Julia Cardigan

This is an absolutely lovely cardigan, and it has really changed my mind about a pattern.

But first some backstory…

I learned how to hold a grudge from my mother. Sometimes I still think she hates this one girl that was in my third grade class who screwed me over on a group project. (Over 10 years ago, mind you. Well over.)

Now, I’ve learned to form opinions on people and things rather quickly, and only change it with careful thought and lots of evidence (and I’ve got forgetfulness on my side… my mom doesn’t, so she needs lots of evidence).

So when I change my mind on a pattern due to a second try, something really has to win me over (I’m looking at you electric hand mixers. It’ll take a lot of work for me to give you a third chance). And the Julia cardigan from Mouse House Creations has done it.

Last time, I used a one way stretch jersey (which was admittedly a mistake) and the version of the pattern that has an unfinished collar, because I didn’t have enough fabric for two. I wear the cardi a lot, but it’s mostly because it’s a nice green color for my wardrobe, and not because it’s comfortable. It also rides up a lot, which bugged me a bit, and doesn’t like to stay on my shoulders. I think it’s mostly a fabric symptom, now that I’ve made another.

Part of the reason it worked better this time is definitely the fabric, and this rather weighty and drapey jersey is it. I got it from a mystery fabric warehouse, but it feels like a rayon lycra blend, and for the thickness its heavy and perfectly scrumptious. It also has terrible recovery.

I used the double collar version this time, since I had just enough fabric. I also made it long sleeved, which was nice. When I finished it, I immediately wore put it on (strings floating around and all), and I noticed a few things. For one, I forgot to cut the armscye out, since I never cut the bodice pieces, which would work for both sleeveless when uncut and sleeved when trimmed a bit. Also the sleeves were ginormous in both length and width at my wrists. But on the whole, the whole cardigan worked!

Before I wore it again, I unpicked the top of the sleeve, trimmed the bodice back and restitched the sleeve. I also skinned the sleeve and shortened it… And it grew once more in length. The new width is acceptable to me, because I often squish it up to my elbows, which works well with the sweater. The length bothered me though, so before I wore it a third time, I topstiched the cuff seam allowance down, and I created thumb holes! (And now a few weeks later, I re-attached the cuff even higher up the sleeve, and now the thumb holes are a bit short, but still doable, and nicer volume when I inevitably push up the sleeves to my elbow.)

And I’m in love!

It does help that this color is a good match to my wardrobe. I’ve noticed that my wardrobe is rather bimodal in color scheme. It’s either cool jewel tones or fall colors (and black which I’m not counting). And this cardigan works for both! I love it with bright indigo/royal blues, and I love it with olive green, and it’s just lovely overall.

Can you tell how much I love it?

Got a favorite sweater that works with almost all of your wardrobe?

(Oh, and if you’re reading this in December 2016, I’m about to write another progress post on my early winter sewing plan for this week… It’ll post tomorrow. With pictures this time!)

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Green Julia Cardi

This post has been long in the making…

I got the Julia Cardigan pattern from Mouse House Creations way back in late 2014, I think? Back when the Perfect Pattern Parcel was still around.

I made it up for the first time in December or early January. And I’m still not sure how I like it.

The fabric is only 2 way stretch, so the lower arms are a smidge tight, and they’re drafted small as well. There also wasn’t enough of the fabric to get two bands out, so I made due with one, and I don’t think it works well with mine.

And my swayback game is strong, and this really shows it. I also tacked down the back neckline for security and flexibility’s sake.

But I reach for it weekly, so I guess I must like it?

I’m thinking of cutting another neckband of a black or other complementary color to assist in the movement of the neckline, but I also have been planning a lot of things. Like jeans and corsets and house cleaning. We’ll have to see how much procrastination I do in the next week before my last final ever!

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Dinglehopper

Today I made this lovely cardigan and it makes an awesome topper to a Little Mermaid Disneybound/subtle cosplay.

If you want to read about the details on the cardigan, you can read them here, on the Monthly Stitch post.

But if you want to see my impromptu Ariel cosplay, here are my dinglehopper friendly pictures!

dinglehopper thinking

So this is my first Syrah skirt, a nice bright green, my Bronte top (or a RTW one), and my new Jenna cardigan!

P.S. This is probably just something weird, but these are honestly the only two pictures where I didn’t look at the camera, which definitely ruined the “illusion.”

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Oatmeal

If you’re a long time reader of my blog, you may have noticed my love of cardigans.

There was the pink one, and the blue one. I also made two green ones pre-blog.

Plans were made for two more… And I made one of them!

The other should be made up shortly… but will I blog it anytime soon? Not likely!

front

So here’s my beige sweater, or Oatmeal.

zero waste technicals3

You may remember this picture, which I got from Pinterest. Isn’t Pinterest cool? Full of fun ideas and things that I have no interest in making, but just look so darn pretty!

I loved the idea of this, and I don’t mind the execution, but once I look in the mirror I start pulling and fiddling to make it look “right.”

If I move, or breathe maybe, the back seam rides up, likely because I’m a sloucher, and pulling my shoulders forward drags the fabric up.

back

You may notice from the pics that I wore this with my black dress (which is definitely the most comfortable thing I’ve made, and once I fix the straps I think it may be a weekly wear option.). I  also made it at about the same time, but I haven’t gotten around to posting about it.

That seems to be a theme for me.

I got the fabric from a Fabric.com haul last year, or early this year. I’m not quite sure anymore. But its a viscose tissue knit with some rayon, I think. Maybe some lycra, maybe not. Very breathable feeling and soft.

I tried to follow the “pattern” but I made changes. Like attaching the entire “skirt” to the “bodice” and shortening the cardigan. I made it up during the summer, and a shorter drapey cardigan makes for better summerwear.

It works very well with jeans, though. Quite nicely, though I think I’ll like it in early fall and late spring for a slight addition of warmth without sleeves to interfere with flow.

So I like it, and I’ll wear it definitely, but its one of those staple cake items that I’ll stay enthused but not excited by.

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First Time in Forever

So I volunteered at the movie theater on campus, and a few weeks ago we showed Frozen.

outfit

May I start by saying that I love the movie? There are many flaws, I know, but the songs are so catchy!

And when I saw it I really was looking at the outfits. I think I finally hit the point where I not only admire the costumes of movies and shows and stuff, but that I want to make and have all of it. I’m not 100% sure that’s a bad thing, but I know its not necessarily good either…

side drape

For our showing of Frozen, though, I definitely thought it would be fun to subtly cosplay Anna.

I knew I wanted a circle skirt that wasn’t already attached to a dress, specifically one that wasn’t black. I’ve got a flowy RTW black skirt, that honestly I don’t wear often (perhaps due to the fact that I stick out enough on campus that it isn’t worth the weird looks), so my plans for the upcoming black skirt will lead to a shorter and less flowy skirt, more A-line.

skirtfront

But I really like the freedom and comfort of a circle skirt. And now that its been warm, I appreciate the flow and  minimum fabric involved.

The fabric for the skirt is a blue crepe. It’s kinda heavy but surprisingly cool, and though I don’t know the fabric content at this point I don’t entirely care. It’s comfy, especially for around the house when I don’t have to care if people see the bike shorts I’m wearing underneath. I do think I need to angle the waistband a bit, but that will happen later, and I need to finish my skinny hem, but I’m thinking embroidery and it’s a long hem. And I needed something to wear yesterday.

skirtback

On another topic I started on my drapey cardigan objective! Knowing I wanted to do this subtle cosplay gave me a great direction, and a reason to get started. This is a super lightweight rayon fabric that squishes into the size of about a child’s shoe, when given opportunity. Its really so soft and squishy, and comfy.

back

I’m not done with it though. It will gain sleeves at some point, but I didn’t feel like drafting them at the time, so that will be for after I’m done moving for the summer. Give me a month or so… and then maybe some.

cardigan

But for now I’ll be frolicking through the summer heat in my Anna subtle cosplay!