Thursday, October 30, 2014

A jacket walks into a bar....

Okay, no jacket really walked into a bar, but it got your attention!

Last year, I bought a seriously ugly knit print. I have no idea why I bought it, but I did.

This year, I have an obsession with making cardigans to go with all my tees and tank tops for fall and then with blouses for the winter.

Boom! Ideas started brewing and then I got to thinking. I'll make a knit cardigan. I dread sewing with knits so tried to simplify the process as much as possible. I chose not to cut a facing, opting to go with hem tape (a lacy seam/hem tape) that matched the fabric. I stitched that on around the front opening and turned it under, then top stitched. Voila! Well, voila until I put it on. It fit right, I loved the pockets and the weight of the fabric, but that front was all wrong. It kept rolling out from wrong side to right, making it nigh on impossible to wear.

Dang, now what? Then the light bulb went off again. Yes, it did. 

I had ordered a tank top to wear (under cardigans, of course!) and really didn't like the way it fit. I'm not a fan of wearing what look like painted on clothes. I wore it once and decided I'd shelve it forever. 

Now I had two items that I was never going to wear. Not acceptable in my book. 

I cut the front off the tank top and then folded it down the center. I cut about 4" from the center on both sides, giving me about an 8" strip of shirt that included the neck opening, snaps, and a good amount of shirt. Then I pinned that to the inside of the cardigan with the wayward facing. I had to be extremely careful to not stretch to the left, right, up, or down; remember, I hate knits! I did this flat on a table with the cardigan front carefully placed over the pink tee. I used probably 3 times the number of pins I needed, but I really wanted it to not shift. 

And guess what? It worked. I actually have a two-fer that I love. You never know what your mistakes can be turned into. It wasn't a hard thing to do, just exacting. I don't mind exacting if I know things will come out okay. And here's the star of today's show:


It's not as frumpy on as it is on the dress form. You'll just have to trust me on that one. Totally machine washable and a toss it over your head kind of top. 

Now, someone stop me from buying a knit piece of fabric again!

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