scrappy Misusu Cuddle Cardigan

 Here is another project that's languished on my to do list for years too long.  I like Misusu patterns a lot and when this came out I noticed it pretty quickly.  I've wanted to do a cardigan from some sweatshirting and it seemed like a lot of things I like - some crafty colourblocking, big pockets.  

I knew I had some scraps of beautiful knits to make it out of so I had also long planned it to be scrappy.  My scrap pile is too big and that was one big pressure to get this done.  I'm at the point where my scraps don't fit in their allocated bins so I'm putting more effort into the scrappy projects.  But by the time I was making it...I was pretty bored with the idea of this cardigan.  I realised quickly that the scrappy look I was envisioning just looks silly and unsophisticated to me.

I had some confusion with the start because the piece I did in animal print is directional and it was hard to find and match the notches correctly.  Once I did this everything else was obvious.  It's quick to put together and I didn't have any other issues with the instructions.   

 

This was straightfoward to sew together.  I made size BB and I think the fit is as expected.  The cool feature of the collar bands crossing over at the back neck actually really annoys me, it creates a spot that can kind of flip over when you're putting it on.  Once I realised all this I limited myself to a single button to make it wearable and have passed it on to a friend.  Can't win them all! 

She wears the pants: draped cardi take 2

 The first version of this cardi was oddly bewitching. See it here. 

I wasn't sure whether short sleeves made any sense. The pockets were low, the cardi was ridiculous.  But something about the flow was very interesting.  A classic Japanese pattern result.  I thought at some point it would be interesting to come back to it with the recommended fabric.  I traced the pattern in size M and didn't, at the time, think that a smaller size would be better if I made it again. 

That moment arrived not too long ago when a friend made a comment and suddenly all I wanted to do was revisit the Japanese pattern books.  I dug through my knits and realised I had a beautiful coral linen knit that would be just the thing for this cardigan.  I thought I could improve on it by shortening the length horizontally above the pockets - this is easy enough to do by cutting and overlapping the pattern.  I also thought it could have something more in the way of sleeves with larger cuffs.  

Sewing it together was no problem.  It's an easy sew once you've done all the tracing work. 

 

But to my dismay the adjustments I made to the pattern were really unnecessary.  I don't think the extra sleeves are useful, they are loose and just hang in the way.  The linen is quite heavy, even if it's not heavier than the rayon blend I used the first time, and I think the change in length is superfluous - I do see it's shorter in my photos, but it didn't really feel shorter while wearing it.  My lesson here is that the Japanese pattern designers know best!  It's really hard to actually improve on their designs.  And I should probably try the smaller size if I make this again.  I wonder how it would be in a more lightweight knit that doesn't pull it down as much.  

Musings on pattern placement

This post has less to do with the patterns that I used (which are the Patterns for Pirates coccoon cardigan and the Sewaholic Renfrew) and more to do with planning, reflection and instinct in sewing.

I am reminded of something that Sophie first put on her instagram. (here) She didn't blog about it.  I'm not sure that link will work for everyone but the gist of it is: she bought fabric from the Fabric Store because a piece of fabric said Take me home and make this dress!  And the vision was absolutely electric - the dress is crazy but it works and she looks amazing in it.

When I do that - when I know exactly the fabric, when I have enough background about the pattern, and I have the skills, ie I'm not pushing my level too much and can therefore push the pattern to be its very best - when I demand that the result be not just wearable but amazing - it is.

And I don't bother to do that very often.
I think that instinct is the hallmark of the sewists that we follow, although taking good photographs probably helps.  They have, by luck or by hard work or by talent or by experience, figured out their own style and they are willing to put in the work here and now in this project to make it as close to perfect as possible.  And the results look amazing, they are worth the effort. They are that magical thing we all want to achieve: better than RTW.

I bought a huge amount of mountain print merino in Auckland at the Designer Textiles warehouse.  It had paint splotches on it and a few holes here and there so they gave it to me for 5 dollars per meter.  Of printed merino.  I took lots.  And my first goal was to make a top with a mountain on it, similar to a certain one that I coveted by icebreaker.

I had some plain cream fabric to use as the accents, but despite my instinct, I went with mountains for the sleeves.  This project quickly fell out of my favor.  The mountains on the chest are somehow in...the wrong place.  The mountains on the sleeves are...annoying the hell out of me.  The whole business doesn't work. 

I took this and toned it down.  I listened much harder to my inner voice and popped out this little Patterns for Pirates cocoon cardigan.  I was careful to make the upper sleeves only pieces of blue sky, and the cuffs and the hem band are cream merino, not the patterned stuff.

This one works a lot better.  In fact, this was a chance to test out this pattern and I went crazy shortly afterwards and made lots more cocoon cardis!  Patterns for Pirates has my attention!

I was very reflective after this experience.  Making one project badly definitely led to thinking harder about making the second project right.  But what kind of commitment do you have to make to each sewing project to make every single one count?

(PS I still had friends who liked the Renfrew so off it went to a new, happy home.)

Burda 03/2013 #107, aka the Most Amazing pschedelic cardigan EVER!

I have had this pattern since last summer.  I think I originally wanted to use some Missoni fabric for it.  Thank god I came to my senses and made a Plaintain instead.  (That was hard enough!) After that I never found fabric I liked - something stretchy but fine knit.

Until a few weeks ago, that is.  I had been musing on cardigans as in the summer a small cardigan is perfect to carry around and throw over your tank top when it gets cool out.  This cardi pattern, chilling in my pattern bag under everything else (is it ghetto that I have one of those big shopping bags as my pattern collection?) was itching to be made *and* while I was in Bern it was the perfect time to splurge at my favourite fabric store, VeroStoffe.  The shop is privately owned and has a well-curated selection.  Unfortunately, not cheap.  I doubt anything is less than 30 franks per meter.

So this amazing cool drapey rayon jersey, at 32 franks a meter, seemed like a steal.  I was in love and didn't hesitate, and I took it home and made up this cardigan in like 2 days flat, brushing aside all the half done projects in the way.  I cut a 38 although I debated a 36 because the material was so stretchy, but the 38 was fine (there is quite a bit of fabric under the arms but not in a bothersome way.)

It is amazing!  I was terrified because of hating gathers but I survived them and although they hang a bit low, it's the pattern - the gathers are not to hold your boobs up, they are more to hide the stuff under your boobs.  I think this is actually a super fabulous pattern.

Ok then I did the stupid thing.  The denoument was waiting to happen, right?  I have this snap maker, and I have all these pretty snaps, and even dark blue ones!  So I spent an hour educating myself on plastic snaps and then filled up my great cardigan with snaps.  Which was perfect!  Until I had to take it off after trying it on!  The snaps are so much stronger than the fabric, even in two layers, which I did NOT ever think of interfacing, that they rip straight out of the fabric.

ooohhhh I hate learning by experience!  So I debated...cutting 20 little squares, interfacing them and zig zagging them on and then re-snapping.  And I put this in a corner to sulk.  And then I thought that is too much work and I am sooo lazy.  So if I just cut one long strip for front and back, interface then and zig zag them on and then re-apply all the snaps, it will be like a band feature.  What do you think?

In the end and with the help of some patternreview comments, I realised I was making things too complicated!!  I zigzagged the band shut, and sewed buttons over the holes (I just pulled out all the snaps.)  So I love my new shirt, even though it no longer opens up the front, it doesn't really need to.  I will interface the front band on my next version and I will use actual buttons.

Here are the after pictures.