Peak Anchor

According to Pat (Mr SoZo), I've finally done it. I've finally reached peak anchor. I'll grant him that this garment does feature A LOT of them, but I'm pretty sure this won't be the last anchor-clad item that sneaks its way into my wardrobe... 

Pattern:

The truth is that, since I made them, rarely a day passes where I'm not wearing either my navy or mustard Cabernet cardigan. One or the other seem to go with just about every garment I own, and they are so comfy and easy to wear. I even wear my first, less successful, turquoise version a hellofalot when I'm at home (like right now in fact). So it wasn't a giant conceptual leap to decide to make another. 

For this version, I decided to go use the width of the button stand/neckband from my navy (#2) version, and the width of the front panels from my mustard (#3) version. Like all my versions, I stabilised the shoulder seams with twill tape, and stitched the buttonholes on the button stand/neckband before attaching it to the rest of the garment, not at the end of the project. Sometimes it's so pleasing to make a garment that barely requires you to think during it's construction. Kind of an anti-challenge.

Fabric:

I spied this incredible anchor jacquard Ponte de Roma at the Fabric Godmother open day a couple of months ago, along with the ivory colour way. At the time, the ivory sung out to me the strongest and I bought 1.6m with cardigan dreams. When I got it home, although I still loved it, I begun to regret my decision. I realised the navy version as a cardigan would fit into my wardrobe better. So when I went to visit Josie (Fabric Godmother's owner) a few weeks later, I got some of the navy too. It's not cheap (£18 p/m) but it's the loveliest fabric to work with and wear: stable but with a soft handle. And it's really wide so I got a Cabernet out of it with plenty left to make some bits for Frankie too. 

Thoughts:

Yes, I did add anchor buttons too. What did you expect?

Cost:

Pattern: PDF $12 (£8.37) from here. I've used it four times now so I'm counting my pattern cost as £2.00 for this project

Fabric: £18 p/m from here. I used 1.6m for this project and got a little discount so cost me about £25
Total: £27

I'm really out of touch with high street prices these days, but I'm guessing that's in the ball park of what you'd expect to pay for a cut-and-sew cardi? However, I also got the added benefits of having the fun of making it, being able to tweak the fit to my personal specifications AND being able to ladle as many anchors into this project as feels correct.

Cabernet Cardigan: Round #3

Here we are! My third (but probably not final) stab at the SBCC Cabernet cardigan pattern. As my #MMMay16 challenge documentation pictures will confirm, I have rarely taken it off since its completion. 

(image source: SBCC Patterns)

Pattern: 

As you can see from the image above, my #3 Cabernet cardi doesn't really resemble the original pattern. To recap: for my second version of this pattern, I started with a size smaller than my measurements would suggest, lengthened the sleeves, straightened the side seams and made the neckband/button stand narrower. On top of those changes, for this version I also made the neckband narrower still, shortened the length of the cardi by 4cm and reshaped the front edges slightly, which included making them 2cm narrower on each side. I'm suuuuuper happy with the look of this cardi now! It's got the proportions of my beloved secondhand fine knit mustard cardi which will soon be too ratty and misshaped to wear. 

Fabric:

I 'bought' this mustard double knit from Fabric Godmother in exchange for helping out at their recent open day. It's not from their range of deliciously soft Ponte de Roma's (one of which I used for the navy version), it's not quite as soft as those and is more like the turquoise double knit I made my first version from but a bit thicker. It was still fantastic to work with and great to wear. The colour is the precise shade of mustard/old gold that I adore. 

Thoughts:

Ah! I'm so happy to have made this garment. As an almost-exact replica of something already in my wardrobe, I knew that it would fit in, and as I mentioned above, hardly a day has gone by that I haven't worn it since it was finished. 

When I first finished it, however, I was being a bit critical and felt that I still had some work to do with the shape and/or width of the front sections. But the more I wear it and the more images of it I see, the less I feel that there is an issue there that needs to be addressed. 

I think my current cardi selection is perfectly sufficient for now, but I can see one or two more versions of this pattern in my future. Possibly a black one using some of the super soft Fabric Godmother ponte if it's the same stuff as the navy. And I'm sorely tempted by a crazy trompe l'oeil effect one using this crochet print double knit from Ditto fabrics. That fabric is totally not my style, but I think it'd be so funny to make a cardi from it. What I would really like is to make it from a really warm cut-and-sew knit fabric, if I ever find some. Many moons ago I found some wooly (albeit synthetic) knit fabric that I used to make this jumper that I wore to death. It was a really warm garment, and I'd love to find something with good heat-trapping abilities to make a cardigan from. Has anyone seen anything that they think might fit the bill?

Cost:

Pattern: PDF $12 (£8.37) from here. I've used it three times now so I'm counting my pattern cost as £2.80 for this project
Fabric: £14 per metre from here. I used 1.5m for this project so my fabric cost is £21
Buttons: £0. Given to me by Textile Garden, which are these that can be found here.
Total: £23.80

I often think of garments I've made or footwear I've bought in terms of 'pounds per wear'; how does the price spent on the item (or materials for the item) relate to the amount of use that item gets. To me, it doesn't matter if it cost a lot initially if it gets many more wears than the amount it cost. I think it'll take a very short amount of time for this cardi to have justified that cost!

Cabernet Cardigan: Round #2

After getting a taste of near-victory with my first attempt at the SBCC Patterns Cabernet cardigan, I was chomping at the bit to have another bash. Little time was wasted...

Pattern:

As I mentioned at the end of the Round #1 post, I already had an idea of what changes I'd need to make to improve the fit and proportions of this pattern for me. This time, I started off with the Small size, rather than the Medium. Next, I straightened the side seams like I did with my first version (and shortened the hem band to correspond with the subsequent change to the width). This time I remembered to lengthen to sleeves slightly, and finally I narrowed the button stand/neckband by 1cm. I was concerned that the slimmer neckband would create problems when applying the buttonholes, so I switched up the order of construction and made the buttonholes before stitching the neckband to the rest of the cardigan, instead of making them at the end. 

Fabric:

Last month I helped out at the Fabric Godmother open day, and for my troubles I was able to choose some fabric. I knew that this was going to be the arrangement in advance so I spent a long time gazing at their website making my choices ahead of time! All but one of my choices were therefore very sensible, and I was able to avoid getting wooed by some intensely pretty prints that wouldn't fill any of my current wardrobe gaps or help me on my way with my Spring/preggers sewing plans. I picked pieces that will blend well into the colour palette of my current clothing selection, plus can be made into garments that are suitable to be worn in multiple seasons. Phew!

I've actually bought and sewn this navy Ponte de Roma in the past, when my best friend commissioned me to make her a Bronte Top, so I knew just how lovely and soft it is. In fact, I'd say it's the nicest Ponte I've ever owned and sewn with, and I think it's the perfect biro-ink shade of dark blue. After multiple wearings, there has been a little pilling, but only what you'd expect from a well-loved item. 

Thoughts:

I'm sooooo happy with this version! I'd say it's 95% there. The fit is much closer to what I was aiming for. My mid-pregnancy body is making this version look a bit frumpy still, but on the dress form I think you can get a better idea of the amount of volume there is now. I really like the slimmer button stand. I don't intend to wear this cardigan buttoned up (well, maybe just the top one to keep it together when it's worn underneath a coat), but I added the buttons and buttonholes to make it look like a 'normal' cardi! 

Cost: 

Pattern: PDF $12 (£8.37) from here. I've used it twice now so I'm counting my pattern cost as £4.20 for this project

Fabric: £14 per metre from here. I used 1.5m for this project so my fabric cost is £21

Buttons: £0. From stash and I doubt I bought them myself initially anyway

Total: £25.20

I'm so pleased with this cardigan, I have worn it almost every day since I completed it, therefore I'm happy with the cost. As soon as I use the pattern again, it'll work out cheaper still! 

Cabernet Cardigan: Round #1

So with #MMMay16 providing the wind beneath my wings, I've dived head first into my Spring/mid-pregnancy sewing plans. The remade denim Tova top has been a real success, but this second project may have spawned a new obsession. May I introduce my first attempt at the SBCC Cabernet cardigan pattern? 

Pattern:

If you recall, I bought the Cabernet cardigan pattern because I had 1.5m of turquoise Ponte de Roma burning a hole in my stash. As soon as I bought the pattern though, I knew it was the best decision I'd made all week. Suddenly, in my future I could see complete cardigan self-sufficiency! What power! I loves me the Jenna cardi pattern, and my Brightside shrug will certainly come into its own as it gets warmer. But what I hadn't realised I needed until now was a looser, layerable, low-neck cardigan pattern that looks good unbuttoned. Basically, I needed a way to recreate my beloved secondhand mustard cardigan, which you can see me wear an embarrassing amount of times during this week four years ago!

(image source: SBCC Patterns)

However, I know that an exact replica of the mustard cardi would never be achievable: the Ponte doesn't behave anything like fine manufactured knitwear so the best I was ever going to get was a decent interpretation. Plus, I knew I wasn't going to nail it first time, so going into this project I kept in mind that the best possible outcome would be a wearable toile. 

I checked the fit half way through this make which resulted in me making two small changes. Firstly, I'd forgotten that SBCC patterns are intended for petite figures, which is fine for me in the body because I am short-waisted, but it meant that the sleeves were coming up too short. I ended up recutting the cuffs as the easiest solution for this version, and made a note to extend the sleeve pattern for future ones. The second change I made was to unpick the waistband and reshape the side seams for a straighter shape. You can see below the new line I drew on the front and back pieces to bring the side seam in from above the waist down to the hips.  

I also decided to omit the pockets as I didn't plan to wear this cardigan buttoned up, and I thought the pockets might create bulk that would prevent the front from hanging properly. This didn't really work out (more on this below), but I don't think I will be arsed to go back and add them. 

Fabric:

I wrote about this turpquoise Ponte de Roma in my Spring sewing plans post, and now all I really have to add is that it was lovely to sew with and wear, but has bobbled (pilled) a little bit after several wears and one wash. The colour is still gorgeously vibrant and it makes me happy to look at, although finding clothes to match with it, other than black, has been a bit tricky. 

Thoughts:

Well. You could interpret this project as a success or a failure, I guess. A success because it was a really fun project, I intend to use the pattern again AND I've worn the outcome heaps. Yet a failure because it's been assigned to house-wear only because it looks really frumpy (I included these last two images as evidence). It's managed to hit the 'sweet spot' of neither baggy-in-a-cool-way, nor the more slender fit of my beloved secondhand mustard cardi. So I have work to do. 

So what do I intend to do? I have two more recently acquired pieces of Ponte (this navy and this mustard) that are earmarked to try this pattern again. I think the navy will be first on the chopping block, and I'll start with a whole size smaller (this turquoise was a medium). I'll also include the straightening of the side seam and make the button stand/neckband narrower. I may even slim the front panels down as well, making the front edges straighter and less curved. I've also got some beautiful grey marl wool blend knit that I recently bought for lounge-wear trousers but that has washed up a bit too itchy. I'm tempted to try it as a Cabernet, but go the other way and select a larger size for an oversized look. 

Cost:

Fabric: Ponte de Roma remnant £6.99 from Ditto Fabrics in Brighton

Pattern: PDF $12 (£8.37) from here

Buttons: vintage from stash

Total: £15.36

As someone who is used to sewing from stash and getting any non-me-made clothing, especially knitwear, from charity shops, that feels like quite a lot for a cardigan that is only getting worn around the house. However, house-cardigans see years of wear, so in terms of pounds-per-wear, I know it'll more than justify that outlay in the long run. But more importantly, I see that cost as an investment in being able to create the cardigans of my dreams with my own hands in the future!