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!

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