Ottobre 03/2009-19

When I ordered the pink matte jersey I used for my Vogue 1020 cardi, I thought I'd use it to make a dress, so I got 3 yards. When it came, I realized that it was too thin to make an unlined dress, so I put it aside until inspiration struck. Since I had so much yardage, I thought Myra might like a cardigan, too. I had already traced out this pattern for a friend, so I had it on hand and just cut out our cardigans together.

The pattern is from the 03/2009 issue of Ottobre. It's a bit of a sleeper though, as there is only one photo of it and it is on a page with several other designs; easily missed! 

That's too bad, because it really is quite a nice pattern! I love the ruched yoke and the bound neckline, and so does Myra! It is otherwise a very simple waist length cardigan.

Here is a closer view of the neckline (and the cute elephant buttons). The yoke section is gathered into the body and then into the binding strip. Since I wanted to use the binding attachment on my coverstitch machine, I gathered the upper yoke onto a strip of fusible interfacing, which I fused onto the gathers to stabilize them, then ran it through the binder. It worked, but I think the interfacing made the neckline a little too stiff, particularly since the gathering already adds a lot of bulk there. Speaking of fusing, I did use fusible thread on the hems (both this and the Vogue cardi), and I LOVE the result! The fusible thread tames the tendency that thin knits have to shift, so the hem doesn't end up twisted, which used to make me crazy. It also makes the hem allowance easy to keep even, since you stitch along the hem edge. This is great for coverstitching/twin needling especially, since you need a nice even hem allowance.

The front edges are finished with cotton bias strips. I used Wright's quilt binding, cut to the appropriate width. How great is that color match? Anyway, I like the way this stabilizes the buttonholes and the front edge, but still is quite flexible. I'm not usually a fan of a bias finish for knits, but it really works here. I can also see the potential for some fun color and print combinations. I think the ruched yoke section would work well in a lightweight cotton (like a voile or lawn) and then the bias bands could coordinate. How cute would that be?

A note on the sizing - Myra is a 92 at the moment, but I heard from some other sewists that this pattern ran a bit small. I sewed her the 98, and I'm really glad I did! the sleeves are just a smidge long, but I really like the fit in the body. So if you're planning to make this cardigan (and you should!) I'd go up a size from what you typically sew and just check the sleeve length.