Cardigan #1

I finally finished the first cardigan I started here.  I took the long folded fabric from the mentioned post They are 3" wide and as long as the cardigan front) and folded the ends of the fabric inside, then sewed the long sides closed with the openings of the cardigan sandwiched inside.

Then I cut 2 rectangles of fabric twice as long as the sleeve openings are around and 3" wide.  I sewed the short ends together to make tubes, then fold the tube in half with wrong sides together and zig zagged the raw edges.

 

After that, I basted beside the zig zag and gathered to match the sleeve openings.

With my sleeves turned inside out and folded to the right length, I pinned the ruffles on the current outside of the sleeve and zig zagged in place to allow some give.  Then I trimmed off the extra material that was turned up.

The circles are cut from my material and scrap from the sweater that I finished with frey check, and attached with a few crossing rows of zig zags.

Beginning a Cardigan

I started one of my cardigans that I mentioned in my last post.  The first is made from one of my pull over sweaters. 

I traced a shirt that fits my 3 year old onto a big piece of brown paper.  If you want yours to fit over bulkier  clothes don't for get to make your pattern a little bigger than a normal fitting shirt.  I  also folded the pattern in half and trimmed/added so it was symmetrical.

Then I pinned the pattern directly onto my inside out sweater making sure to match up the collar.  Then I sewed along the pattern.  I found that this made the fabric more stable without leaving anything that would need to be torn away later.  I wanted a long cardigan, so I gradually angled my stitching line from the waist of the shirt pattern out to the lower corners of the existing sweater.  I also wasn't sure what I wanted to do abut cuffs, so I continued sewing past my sleeve patterns to the end of the sweater sleeves.

 

Now we have a long sweater with long sleeves.  Next I folded the sweater in half and cut all the way up the front.

I tried using an iron on adhesive to finish the raw edges in front.  Here I ironed it on the edge and am removing the backing.

But when I tried to fold it over and iron it in place, it just wouldn't take.  I think it had to do with the weight of the fabric and the low temperature of the iron, but I was afraid to turn it up because the sweater is acrylic.

So I fixed it with this material that I cut and folded kind of like bias tape (but I didn't cut on the bias).

I'll have to save embellishments for another day.  In the mean time, anyone have an idea what to do with the sleeves that I still have folded up like I did in the picture above?

Cardigan Ideas

My 3 year old needs something to wear over her sleeveless dresses.  I've been doing some looking around and I think I'm going to make a couple out of a white t-shirt and a grey pull-over sweater using these techniques.  Both have tutorials on their blogs.

from Shwin & Shwin

from i Candy handmade