The Itch to Stitch Paro Cardigan

Hey y'all! Long time no see. I seem to have dropped off the blogosphere accidentally. To be frank, the process of taking and editing pictures, then writing a blog post was just too much for me for a while there. I really have been sewing quite a bit. If you follow me on IG (@kid_md) or Twitter (@katie_kid_md) you'll still get to see lots of sewing action. I'm not sure I'll be posting everything I make going forward, but I really wanted to show y'all this. Blogging mojo kickstarted!

So, this cardigan is what I wanted to share with y'all. Now that we live somewhere with proper seasons (it was ALWAYS hot in Texas and ALWAYS cold in Utah, no transitions), I find myself grabbing cardigans and hoodies a lot to layer on chilly mornings. I recently made the Jalie Helene cardigan, which I love and hopefully can get some pics of soon, but wanted something with a little more flair and shaping. I was just browsing on the Pattern Review shop, and came across this cardigan pattern from Itch to Stitch. I admit, I hadn't paid any attention to this company. I have a lot of patterns and these smaller Indie companies can be pretty variable in terms of pattern making and drafting quality. But I like the style so much, I decided to give it a go.

I mean seriously, this rear view?! With all that wonderful pleating! I love it. Another down side (for me) was that this was a PDF. Y'all, I hate taping those things together. And this was not the easiest one I've ever done. I fall into three different sizes, so I couldn't just print the one size. And for whatever reason, the pieces just didn't want to fit well together during assembly. I ended up cutting out each piece as I assembled it, instead of leaving it as one big sheet. Once that was done, it went together fine.

I really like that this style lends itself well to being dressed up or down. Pencil skirts aren't exactly conducive to chasing my kids, so I love that I can wear this cardi with my jeans as well. It sewed up nicely in a rayon-poly-lycra Ponte from FabricMart. I don't think it's particularly well suited to thinner knits, as you'd lose the details in the pleating.

 As far as the pattern itself goes, the drafting was good - everything fit together as it should. I found the sizing a bit on the RTW/vanity sizing side of things. My measurements put my in 3 sizes, the smallest of which was a size 2. Y'all... I haven't been a size 2 since middle school. That said, as long as you ignore the size numbers and go by your measurements, those are accurately represented. For fit, the only alteration I made was to grade out 2 sizes at the bust. Since there is plenty of ease in the hips, I didn't make any changes there. It's also worth noting that I did not lengthen the sleeves. I have quite long arms and generally do have to add some length to most sleeves, but as you can see, this one is quite long as drafted. Shortening is easier than lengthening though, so that's a feature for me.

The other major change I made was to add pockets. I must have pockets in my cardigans. They hold my phone, keys and all the bits of stuff that come with modern life. It doesn't matter how much I love a garment, if it doesn't have pockets, I won't wear it and that goes double for cardigans. I made these the full length of the lower section and deep enough for my 5.5 inch phone.

Inside, you can see the pocket bags cover up the pleats a bit, which is nice. Since the pockets reach the entire length of the panel, they are stitched into the waist seam and the hem, so no flopping about. I used a matching cotton jersey for the pockets to reduce bulk, as the waist seam gets a bit thick with all those pleats. You can also see that I added inner buttons to stabilize my large outer buttons and prevent them from pulling through the ponte. It's always good to stabilize a heavy button, especially on a knit fabric. I did add an extra button. The pattern calls for a single large button, but I really liked the look of two. And it's mine, so I do what I want.

Overall, I think this will get a lots of wear. It's a pretty distinctive style, so I'm not sure I'll make a ton of them, but maybe there's room in my closet for one more. I have some leopard print ponte...

Patterns for Pirates Carefree Cardigan

On Thursday, Pattern for Pirates released a new pattern, which I had the opportunity to test!

And so I present the Carefree Cardigan! It is designed to be a semi-fitted, easy to wear topper that can bring some style to everyday, while remaining completely comfortable.

The pattern included several options, with 3 sleeve length and two varieties of bands, as well as a belted option. Mine is the 3/4 length sleeve with bands finishing all of the cardigan edges.

The fit is comfortable and perfect for layering. There is enough shaping through the waist for a ladylike look. The sleeves have plenty of ease to go over a long sleeve top.

The pattern is very versatile as far a fabrics go, and testers made their garments in everything from super thin sweater knits to bulky fleece. I went for a middle of the road weight with this ponte knit. It has a pretty metallic mini cheetah print, for a very subtle inclusion in Jungle January! The bands are a rayon terry from Mood. They're a bit heavier than the ponte, which gives the cardigan a nice drape.

The bands are attached with all seams enclosed in a flat felled seam, so the cardigan is very nicely finished on the inside. This is important, as the drapes do reveal the wrong side of the fabric, so take that into account when selecting your materials.

Overall, I'm very pleased with my Carefree Cardigan. It was fun and easy to sew and  it has definitely gotten a lot of wear on chilly days this winter! Pop over to Patterns for Pirates and get yours!

My Image Winter 2010/11 M1003

I finally got my act together and put the buttons and buttonholes on my leopard cardigan.

The original pattern, which is from the Winter 2010/2011 issue of My Image magazine, is for a duster length cardigan, which I made full length here. I like that one, but I don't wear it often, partly because of the length. I thought I'd get more wear out of a high hip length cardi, so I cut off 12 inches (!!) of length, but otherwise made no alterations to the pattern.

The fabric is a printed sweater knit from Fabric Mart. It is a cotton-lycra blend, and so soft! I've been hanging on to it a while, waiting for the "perfect project" to come along. I don't know if this is perfect, but I sure like it a lot better in my closet than in my stash.

The other change I made from the first version was to interface the bands with a non-stretch interfacing (Pro-Weft, which is my favorite general use interfacing). I knew I would be putting buttons and proper buttonholes on this one, so I wanted the bands to be stable. I also noticed that on my first version the bands tended to ripple a little, and the firmer interfacing prevented this.

I wore it with my cropped ponte knit pants and my black turtleneck, both of which are pieces from the Wardrobe Basics SAL! I only have 2 more pieces to complete for the SAL (assuming that I have given up on the trench for now), which are the khaki skirt and the LBD. I found the perfect base pattern for the khaki McQueen skirt I intend to knock off, and I'm in the pattern tweaking process. The LBD is percolating in my brain, although I have the fabric for my vision. I just need to decide on a pattern or two.

For those who celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful Easter!

My Image magazine Winter 2010/11 M1003

Have you ever gotten to the end of a project and felt like there had to be more to do? I've been doing so many relatively complex things lately, that when I hemmed this cardigan, it was almost a let down. Really, that was all? But I want to sew more!

The pattern for the cardi is from My Image magazine, the Winter 2010/11 issue, which was their first issue. I'm also wearing my Simplicity 3536 top, New Look 6816 silk pants, and my recently completed Escargot cloche.
This is the wearable muslin of my tie waist topper for the Wardrobe Basics SAL. I have some leopard print sweater knit for the final version, but since this is my first time sewing a My Image pattern, I wanted to make sure that the draft was good before I cut my precious leopard sweater knit.

This is the M1003 cardigan from the aformentioned magazine. It is pretty basic, but has some nice touches. My favorite thing about this is the shaped front band. Instead of just a straight cut front, the band forms a V neck, which I find flattering. The sleeves are banded rather than hemmed, and I particularly like the length, which comes to the top of my knees. The drafting of the pattern is very good, and the sizing seems to be typical for the European patterns in that there isn't a ridiculous amount of ease. By my high bust, I am between a 36 and a 38, but my waist and hip both fall into the 38, so I cut the 38, blending out to a 40 in front at the bustline. This worked well for this relatively unfitted garment.

Here is a closer shot of the neckline. You can see the way that the band curves to fit the V neck. In this slippery ITY it was a bit of a bear to sew, but it shouldn't be any trouble in a firmer knit, which is what this pattern is designed for. My major complaint with this pattern was the instructions. I've become accustomed to Burda's weird and wacky instructions, so my expectations aren't high, but these were incomprehensible. I'm hoping that they have hired a better translator since this was published. It was abysmal. This is a simple garment, so I was able to puzzle out what they were talking about, but mostly I just winged it and used the pictures in the magazine to figure it out. I'm pretty sure I did the front bands my own way. Fortunately, the magazine has several images of each garment made up in different fabrics, so you can see how they are constructed.

I am reasonably pleased with how it came out. I think the floral print skews Asian, and gives it an almost kimono-like look, although I also think it is a little bathrobe like. For the leopard print, I think I will need to shorten it to a hip length. Knee length leopard may be a bit much - even for me.

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.

Simplicity 2603 and a question for you!

I finally got a chance to sit down to my serger and whipped up the Simplicity 2603 cardi wrap.

I know I'm late to this party - there are already over 80 reviews of this pattern on PR!  There is something to be said for standing on the shoulders of greatness...  I decided to sew this after Judy mentioned in a comment that she had used cardis like this as a nursing cover.  What a  great idea!  Cute, fashionable, and one less thing to shove in the already overstuffed diaper bag.  I was on it!

I don't have much to add to the collected wisdom on PR.  My version is made of a very thin cotton/lycra jersey that I got at FFC.  I assembled it completely on the serger, using a 3 thread overlock and inserting the neckline elastic with my elastic/tape foot.  As many of the other sewists who have made this chose to do, I did not hem, as I didn't want to alter the drape.  I considered a rolled hem, but even with the differential feed at 2, I got some rippling when I tried it out, so instead I used the serger unthreaded (gasp!) to trim off the hem allowance and give it a smooth edge, which I don't ever achieve with shears.

So, my question to those of you with sergers is this - What thread(s) are your favorite for serging and where do you get them?  Here in small town Texas, my only sources are Hancock, which carries a few colors of Maxi-Lock, and Walmart, which carries a lower quality thread that I don't love, but has a few more colors.  I'm hoping for an online thread mecca.  Does it exist?

ETA (11:00) - Wow, y'all are awesome!  So far, Maxi-lock at Atlanta Thread & Supply has the strongest following (and the lowest price at 1.85 a cone!).  SewTrue also has a good price and excellent color selection as well as great prices on zippers and an impressive closeouts selection.  Of course, if I had been paying attention to Liz's sidebar, I wouldn't have had to ask.  Check out all the great online shops she has linked!  I'm about to break the bank...

FO: Baby Sophisticate sweater

Can you believe I already finished it???  Neither can I!!

I'm definitely a fan of knitting baby clothes.  This worked up so quickly!  The pattern is the Baby Sophisticate by Linden Down.  All my Ravelry notes are here.  I learned a ton of new things making this little sweater.  It is a seamless, top down design, and the sleeves are knit in the round.  I took Myrna's advice and knitted the sleeves using the 2 circular needle technique.  It worked really well!  I'm still a little scared of DPN's.  Also new to me was shaping with short rows and making buttonholes.  The cardigan fronts are knit with a slip stitch selvage, which you then pick up to knit the front band.  I'm so excited to have learned so much on one garment!  Although to be fair, since I know so little about knitting, there is still a lot to learn!
I hope it fits him when he arrives!

What do you think?

From the side?
It looks all right to me!
It feels to me like nothing is coming from my sewing room right now, but I have been hard at work, cutting out Halloween and Ren Fest costumes.  Mitch is taking the kids today so that I can spend the day sewing.  Isn't he a sweetheart?  Hopefully I'll have a costume or two to show you soon!