New Cardigan!

I have been meaning to blog this for two weeks but I just couldn’t get decent pictures taken.  As it is, the pictures are craptastic.  I blame our new point and shoot camera…it is the noisiest damn camera I’ve ever owned.  Good thing we found my husband’s trusty old Fuji.

Anyhow…after the flop that the DKNY knock off cozy was (Simplicity 2603), I still needed a cardigan of sorts.  I was not ready to give the cozy another shot so I thought I’d try this other pattern (Simplicity 2560) and see what happened.  This is a pretty straightforward design and the instructions were easy to follow.  The most difficult part about making this cardigan was trying to keep track of which side of the fabric was the right side and the wrong side.  I used a cotton interlock and the two sides look nearly identical.  I am still not sure if i used the same side as the outside for all the pieces but I can’t see any difference between them so I guess I’m in the clear either way.

My main concern was this pattern was that the garment would not fit.  This was supposed to be a sort of trial run before I used more expensive fabric but I went ahead and constructed it as if it was the final garment. I’m glad I did because it fits great.  The sleeves fit just right and while I have plenty of ease around the bust, that’s how I like it.  I would not have wanted it any smaller.

I made view A all the way through.  During the final fitting, just before I hemmed the sleeves, my husband and I came to the conclusion that it was rather plain and that ruffles on the sleeves would look nice.  I didn’t want bulk per se, just flare, so I added the sleeves for view C which are not stayed.  It turned out great and I am glad I did because it DID look plain.

When adding the flounce to the sleeves, I shortened them by a couple of inches because they came past my elbow before the flounce.  I wish I had shortened them more.  Live and learn.

I am very happy with the end resutla and I have worn the cardigan several times since I made it.  I love it.  It’s warm enough to keep me comfortable during class (COLD classrooms) but not so warm that I look ridiculous in.  This is, after all, Florida.