Tilly and The Buttons, Bertha Cardigan

Make It Simple is the third book from Tilly and the Buttons. Love At First Stitch, her first was published around the time I began sewing- with her Parisian/nautical/vintage inspired vibe, Tilly played a vital part in learning to sew for myself and many others.

Make It Simple is what it says on the box- a series of easy-to-sew patterns that shouldn't leave the maker feeling frustrated! I think it's important to instersperse easy or at he very least, less time consuming makes into the wardrobe to keep positivity and productivity high.

The Bertha Cardigan certainly comes together quickly. The blocky pattern pieces are great for well, colour blocking - the sleeves are such a big chunk of the pattern, using contrast fabrics creates a really bold visual impact.

This Art-Deco inspired Lurex textured knit fabric from Minerva is everything I hoped it would be. The black and gold gives an immediate touch of glamour and the geometic pattern reminds me of 1920s architecture. The fabric has a glorious stretch to it, and although descibed as a heavy-knit on the website, it desn't weigh the garment down at all. There is a layer on the underside so the lurex isn't itchy on the skin at all despire it's sparkles. I had orignially planned my Bertha to be in full-deco fabric, but on cutting out my pieces I found that a contrasting sleeve realllly bought this pattern to life. Sadly with the fabric shops still closed for lockdown I had to plump for some stash fabric for my sleeves, which didn't have as much stretch as I'd have liked. The lack of stretch makes the cardingan a little more jacket-y but I think that works in it's own way.

I hadn't prepared myself for how much my overlocker was going to HATE my contrast fabric though! Attaching the front band was a battle- It was way too bulky and my machine really struggled. Luckily you can't see the seam from the outside, but it's baaad! I wish I'd been more patient and ordered some black sweatshirt fabric.

To get the most out of my deco fabric I was really really careful with my cutting out. I made sure that the two front pieces were as symmetrical as possible so the pattern would match horizontally and veretically, with the precision really adding to the jazz-age architecutural forms I had in my head. I wanted the linear gold stripes to run up along the outside of the neckband, I got it bang on!

The pattern is so speedy, once I have all the right supplies I will definitely be whizzing up another one!

x
Location: University of Sheffield
Currently listening to: Fire, Kasabian

McCalls M7484, Cardigan

If you've ever had a conversation with me for longer than five minutes I've probably told you that I get really cold. With what feels like another 4 months of winter still to come I wanted my next make to be something that would hopefully shut me up moaning for a bit.

My mental brief for this make was 'comfy, warm, snuggly, casual. Must have pockets'. I set about searching for a solid pattern that would tick all my boxes and settled on the McCalls M7484 cardigan pattern. I was excited about how easy it looked to wear, just pull on then snuggle up! Plus how easy it looked to make- no fastenings!

I particularly like the big fold out collar that doubles up as a scarf and the way it turns into this super cute waterfall front. I struck lucky with this fabric from Abakhan, the underside is plain black so creates a bold contrast where it folds in and out. I decided to use the reverse for making the cuffs and bottom band too.

I'd spotted this pattern online and hastily added it to my wishlist. What I didn't pay attention to, was the sizing of the pattern. Ooops, I'd ordered the large sizes!! I talked myself out of buying the pattern again after taking a bit of time to open it out and assess the pieces. I worked out what size I would need then traced the pattern, shrinking it down as I traced. It sounds kind of tricky, I think if the pattern had been more complex I would have struggled, but I tried to draw the inside to match the difference in sizes that were already shown.

I made a quick toile so I could check I hadn't done anything crazy with the sleeves but it all seemed to fit together pretty well. Can't believe I thought about rebuying the pattern! As the style is pretty loose anyway I didn't want to make it extra extra roomy!

The pockets are sewn into the side seams, with the pocket bag being attached straight onto the inside of the front piece. I think a free moving pocket might have been a bit cooler as you can see the stitching from the front, but I was super neat with my curves and luckily my stitching it pretty much hidden by the colour of my fabric.

The hardest part of assembling is probably attaching at the collar. As with pretty much every McCalls pattern I've ever used (coincidence??) you have to reinforce a corner and then snip into it, making the seam allowance very tiny where you join the back neck to the shoulders. It works though! Which I was relieved about after feeling like I'd blagged it a bit when I reduced the size of the pattern.

The other tricky bit I found was getting over the bulk around the pockets and side seams with the overlocker. As the fabric I chose was quite thick it was a bit of a climb to get round when attaching the bottom band.

Over all the cardigan is exactly what I was after. I think maybe it is just a little bit too long- the bottom band certainly affects the way it hangs, and it was perhaps a little easier to wrap around before I added it. I like the colour contrast though and the way the length hugs my bum a bit at the back so I'm not complaining!

Oh yeah and did I mention it's super warm?

x

Location: Burgoyne Arms, Langsett Road, Sheffield
Currently listening to: GO GO GO, Coco Don't