Sunday, June 13, 2010

A Trio of Cardigans

I spend alot of time in manufactured air ~ aka air conditioning...and it's always blowing way colder than I like.  In fact, most women who ride the bus with me either carry a pashima shawl or a lightweight jacket in their totes to cover up with because it is so cold.

So when I saw the silk jerseys at Elliott Berman, they reminded me of the ltwt little cardigans that I've been seeing all over the internet this summer and lusting after...because I always need something on my arms to keep me warm during the summer.

For these I used my TNT cardigan pattern - Burda 8869 - to make two more versions.  Now even though these are basically the same fabrication, adding the dye & printing on the fabric definitely changed the hand of it.  What do I mean?  The bright floral was a stretchier piece of fabric than the black/grey/white version and I didn't realize it until after the pattern pieces had been cut out and I was assembling them.  So I made slight adjustments in how I handled them. 

Otherwise the construction is the same as always.

~stitch on the sewing machine and then finish the seam on the serger
~reinforce the shoulder seam with tape
~insert the sleeves in a flat insertion instead of in the round
~use stitch witchery for the hems and then stitch down

The only modification I made to these were for length...they are a little shorter than the navy blue cotton one.

1.  A floral garden
This one is pictured on Lulu with no buttons.  I have some picked out just haven't decided whether or not I'm going to add them.


2.  Black/white & gray all over
This cardigan is a little tighter fitting because the fabric doesn't seem to have as much stretch



and I added black mother of pearl buttons to the front.



3.  The blue cotton lace cardigan from the SWAP
I noticed in the comments that someone asked about it.  Yes, it was made so quickly during the final days of the SWAP that I didn't blog about it.  I just didn't have time!


For this version, I omitted the bands and added the navy blue piping that appears at the neckline of the beaded dress to tie the two pieces together.  I did not add any additional inches to the front or back piece because I knew that I was going to use the vintage pin as the closure.  So the two front pieces only had to meet, not overlap.


This cardigan has a center back seam where the first two do not.  Sometimes I make it with the center back seam and sometimes I don't.  I purposely didn't with the first two because I didn't want to break up the pattern on the fabric.  Even though it's made from lace it's actually heavier in weight than the first two cardis.

These are the first of the basic pieces that I'm adding to my wardrobe after The Great Closet Clean-Out.  I've pulled the fabric for the black linen pants and for a navy blue straight skirt.  There wasn't enough of the navy blue fabric for pants and I'm not sure its suitable for pants...and right now I just don't want to purchase any more.  I know what you are thinking...but I did say, right now! *LOL*

...as always, more later!

p.s.  Go Celtics!  Go Celtics!  3-2 Wahooooooo!!

39 comments:

  1. Very pretty cardigans and can relate with the manufactured air. I recently had to put in an order for a new heater. I run my heater year round at the office and it eventually burned out.

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  2. I love the new cardigans. So pretty. And the lace one is my favorite. I guess I'm just a girly girl at heart. So glad you used the Elliott Berman fabrics right away. The fabrics there were so dreamy!

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  3. Love those little cardis. I always carry a cardi or a pasminia back and forth with me because the temp is never ever right in the office! g

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  4. I'm really loving your cardigans! Great print and the lace one is really pretty too.

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  5. Very nice cardigans. I think the black and white is my favorite.

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  6. Love your pretty cardigans.... They are all beautiful. Please how did you sew the lace on your machine? I have similar lace fabric and have been thinking how to make it into something..Thanks and have a great week

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  7. Well you got to your Elliott Berman fabrics fast, mine have made it out of my suitcase and into my sewing room. All the cardigans look great, but it's especially nice to see the flat fabric we purchased together being transformed!

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  8. Great cardigans, the fabrics are gorgeous.

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  9. I have the same problem in my office. I have a collection of lightweight and short sleeved cardigans to go over summer dresses. These pretty floral ones are a great addition to a wardrobe. Next summer I will try some patterns and move away from the safe plain colours.

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  10. Lovely cardi's - you will use these a lot!

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  11. Ooh a terrific trio of cardigans! These are perfect lovely looking lightweight summer cover-ups. I love them all!

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  12. the first one is gorgeous, its going to be wonderful for the summer into fall. It just makes me smile just looking at those warm colors

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  13. I love all three of them. Great with skirts, dress pants, dresses and jeans. Winners in my book. I would love to have all three of them.

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  14. Love the lace cardigan. You've given me an idea for some leftover stretch lace I found in the scrap box today.

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  15. Who doesn't love cardis? All are beautiful.

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  16. Nice cardies! Always a useful garment and much more comfy than a jacket.

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  17. Love and the new cardigans. I always have a cardigan/wrap with me where ever I go as I am always cold.

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  18. Carolyn, if you see this, tell me more about the application of stitch witchery before hemming the cardigans....was that too stabilize the fabric first before hemming? I have never tried that, but always looking for tips to make handling knits easier. Thanx!

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  19. Cardis are a perfect wardrobe pick-up whether you need a splash of color, or a cover-up. Nice pieces!

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  20. I love the cardi's and how you made each cardi just a tad different. Nobody would know they are from the same pattern - now I'm inspired to make some, with a pattern I have, but have never used. thanks! :)

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  21. I really like your cardigans. It made me think about getting out one of my kwik-sew books on knits and see if they have a basic pattern that could be updated. The 3/4 sleeve is a great length for summer. I am always too cold in restaurants and such.

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  22. Three nice cardigans that I know will get lots of wear.

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  23. I'm loving all of those! I spend quite a bit of time in cardigans or dragging one along with me wherever I go. Just because you have air conditioning doesn't mean it has to be Ice Age cold!!!!

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  24. I love your cardigans! The prints are all very pretty.

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  25. Love those cardigans! I am amazed at how much you sew and all of the items are so pretty. When I need some motivation and inspiration to sew I just read your blog and look at the pics. Keep up the good work.
    Donna Wicks

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  26. Beautiful! I was eyeing a lightweight floral cardigan at Anthropologie recently, guess I better check out Elliott Berman as yours are even better! It's always cold in my office also :-(

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  27. Is there a woman alive who doesn't find air conditioning too cold???
    What great cover ups,Carolyn. I especially like the gray one.I've never worked with silk jersey. I've always been afraid of the stuff.Lol

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  28. This weekend, I noticed that my cardi wardrobe is sadly lacking for the summer. I need cardis because I'm not comfortable with bare arms at work or in church.

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  29. You're a true inspriation!
    An excellent seamstress!
    Just adore your cardigan
    pieces of art!!!!

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  30. Love them.

    Question: Why do you stitch and then serge just to finish the seams? Why not use the serger to construct the garment?

    I don't have a serger, but I thought that was one of the reasons to get one: you could eliminate steps by sewing the seams and finishing the seams at the same time. These are questions from ignorance, not implied criticisms, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

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  31. All three are great and wonderful. I'm in the air at home yr-round here it seems and even more so during the summer. It's either turn it off and let the humidity/heat kill ya or be cold and throw on a shawl or sweater lol.

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  32. All three are wonderful. Can you talk more about they dyeing? Did you overdye the orange one? Whatever you did they all look great.

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  33. These are great. I know your pain. I have a small heater in my office and I always carry a jacket or sweater to work.

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  34. These are all so pretty that I can't pick a favorite! Lovely job!

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  35. Well, I'm late to the cardi party, but they are all lovely. I used to always do the same thing when I was working.

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  36. If you like a centre back seam in your cardigans why not turn it into a design feature? Pipe it, fake buttons and loops, anything that balances with what you want in the front, you are a great sewer with lovely ideas.
    Sheila

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