Cardigan-fest! Swoon and Nina

I love my Swoon (free pattern) merino wool cardigan. It is big enough to go on over jumpers and small enough to go under a trench coat for extra warmth. Exactly what I'll be needing for London winters (or summers even)! I find this a really simple pattern to make. For some reason I didn't use the overlocker on the seams but doubt it will fray.

The only problem I find is the hem. I just rolled it over twice and sewed - but there must be ways of making those points a bit less bulky. I read about mitred corners and tried it - but the angles are not 90 degrees so were not quite as successful as my practice ones. Nevertheless I am pleased with my second swoon cardigan. My first was a trial one and was worn nearly every day in the winter. It is now worn out because the fabric is pilling and it really looks as though it's had its day!

Swoon cardigan in grey merino (from the Drapery) over Tessuti Eva in Liberty

 However, as much as I love the Swoon cardigan I wanted to try Style Arc Nina cardigan. It looked just a little bit more stylish.

I have some lovely merino from The Fabric Store in a powder blue and  black. However a type of soft viscose ponte (I do believe it is clay pot mix from Tessuti) was crying out to be a light summery/autumn kind of Nina. I didn't think I'd have a problem with the size. Style Arc tend to fit me around the shoulders at a 16 and sometimes I make hips wider in tops. I left this one alone as it is a waterfall style cardigan and I thought it would have lots of room.

I looked and looked at some blogs of Nina cardigans and not one person said it was complicated to sew. However I was looking at the pictures of the pattern and could make little sense of it. I followed each instruction in order - pinning first to check, then sewing (no overlocking in this one just in case I had it all horribly wrong). And surprise, surprise - it went together beautifully. Style Arc patterns are wonderfully drafted and so long as all the right notches match up you can't go wrong! Well, in this case anyway! Mind you I have only dabbled in the easier patterns - don't give me zips, linings or buttonholes yet or my sewing world will be turned upside down!

Nina cardi over Tessuti Pia in pink linen from a very unflattering angle!

Pattern: Style Arc Nina Cardi - PDF from Etsy shop (14, 16, 18 not nested). I used the 16.
Fabric: 2 metres of Tessuti Viscose jersey - Clay pot mix (still available at time of writing). A beautifully soft material - feels lovely to wear.

Best features of pattern: Easy to put together (don't be put off by the pictures - just follow the instructions)

What I didn't like: Wasn't quite sure how to go about hemming (not into rolled hems yet), so instead of leaving it completely raw-edged I zig-zagged around the outside edge. And I'm very happy with the way it turned out. It's not a fabric that will fray so it should be okay - must learn the rolled hem!

Photos: Forgive the angle - all my photos are taken with my phone - 10 sec delay propped up against various things - drinking glasses to name one of them. The angles are a bit weird but i hope the photos are enough to give the right idea.

I will definitely try one of these in my black merino - or even the powder blue. It's quite light and would be useful for most of the year - just not those summer months in Adelaide! And I'll probably be brave enough to overlock the next one!

I am working hard to replace all the cardigans I keep leaving behind in hire cars and on aeroplanes. I must be more careful on my next trips!

What is your favourite cardigan pattern? There are just too many to choose from!

Tessuti Pia and pink linen

Family catch-up for brunch.

Hmmm - a weird angle - but the photographer is my phone taped to something on the table.

 

 

The Pia dress by Tessuti has been a favourite of mine for a long time. I have admired the dresses and the pattern from afar. How to do those pockets though? They looked a bit complicated so I left the pattern download in my usb drive and forgot about it. Then I looked at every blog about it that I could - wondering, wondering whether or not it would look okay on me. While still deciding I had the pattern printed out at Officeworks and kept it safe with all my other patterns.

One of my favourite pastimes is to imagine fabrics and patterns together and then to re-imagine other combinations:

Eva in linen?

Pia in linen or even Liberty?

Eva in Liberty?

Suzy pants in rayon?

Suzy pants in Liberty - black?


And so on. I spend much more time on this than actually sewing but at least I usually feel I have the pattern that fits the fabric (that is usually - not always)!

My decision was to cut the size 16 Pia adding a few centimetres to the length and about I cm to the width at the hips (which would give me an extra 4 cm width). I measured the pattern and myself several times and made up a quick toile in some horribly unwearable polyester. I then cut out my pink linen bought in Dalston, London

a couple of years ago. All I  know about it is I liked the colour and the gentleman serving me had to go up a ladder to pull out the rolls of linen.

This particular shop was stacked high with every fabric imaginable but I didn't feel comfortable asking anyone to climb up too many times. I have a fear of heights obviously not shared! I did also come away with a small piece (about 1.5 m) of lovely soft blue-flecked linen that I made up into a scout tee. This I have worn on numerous occasions. It is so pretty!

The pink was another story. I wasn't sure when I first got back to Adelaide just what I would use this 3+m piece for.  Of course, the Pia! It turned out well and I even got the pockets right. I have had compliments every time I've worn it. Winner!

I was wearing it while supermarket shopping and saw a woman with an identical dress in a lighter linen (thankfully not pink)! I wanted to say something to her because I very rarely get to speak to other sewists, but I don't like to intrude.

I had zero problems with the pockets. I followed the instructions from Tessuti, which are very clear, and they worked out as the illustration. Quite a surprise for me!

One thing that I had to fix was the hem length. The weight of the material and the way the pockets hang makes the front droop. It is not as noticeable in a lighter weight fabric. I cut quite a chunk of hem from the front to make it even. I had altered both the back and the front of the pattern for length before cutting out. This extra length and weight could have been the problem. It was all sorted and I'm not that fussy about hems - could be I want an asymmetrical hem! I don't have the luxury of someone measuring from the ground up and pinning my hem for me as I was taught to do a few years ago. This is just a complete time-waster for me.

 I love doing hems because I'm usually at the end of the project and can wear it. Pants are a different matter as I have one leg that appears to be considerably longer than the other. I'd never have known this if I'd never worn pants! I have to pin and fit several times to get them right. I think it's because one hip sticks out a bit more than the other and holds the pants up higher on one side (true)!

Back to my linen Pia - final words - I will make more!

What do you plan to sew more of?