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Tuesday 29 September 2015

A knit boucle cardigan


Nine times out of ten my sewing plans start with a pattern. Once in a while I buy fabric without a plan, and only too often it will stay in the dark corners of the stash forever with little hope of being promoted to the sewing queue. But not this time!


When this knit boucle caught my eye I knew I had to have it and after a quick prewash I was spending the next evening in my sewing room, cutting while trying desperately not to exhale. Or sneeze. Nevertheless I ended up with curly stuff from floor to ceiling. And not just in my sewing room either.
It was totally worth it. The fabric is very soft, feels luxurious and was a dream to sew.

For a brief moment I had been contemplating a remake of this jacket, but working with a zipper combined with this fluffiness? Not the smartest plan. I went back and bought buttons, stretch lining and some black ponte for facings. On my way home I looked around and got some new ideas.


These RTW cardigans all had trim along the center front that was part of the facing. Clever and quick! I made a pattern that was a mix of my jungle January jacket and the sleeves of McCall's 6708. The colour of the lining fabric, although black, looked a bit off next to the facings so I left it out (the red cardigan above was unlined too). I took my facing pattern pieces and added 2x1 cm + seam allowance to the front to create a 1 cm wide trim. The facing was stitched to center front, right sides together, then flipped inside, folded one centimeter from the stitching line. Stitched in the ditch and voila, all that was left to do was finish the neckline with a separate band and hand stitch the hems.


In this close up you can see the taupe and copper yarns that add some shine to the fabric, hard to catch in the pictures. I mentioned buttons, but when I added them I didn't like the look. Iiieee! Bavarian hunter jacket vibes!
Maybe snaps? So far I prefer to wear it open.


As there is not much more to tell about this project I tried to experiment a bit with my camera settings. I'm following Gillians's Better Pictures Project and wanted to try Heather B's tip to shoot in Portrait Mode. Although the general idea was that my garments would be in focus and my backdrop would be softer, I have a feeling it's the other way round here. Back to the books!

As part of the Better Picture Project I may as well show the outtakes:

When you check the settings, make sure to be back in position in time!


How many times do I have to say that's the remote. Not a doggy snack.

Me and my furry shadow doing our simultaneous catwalk act. 

Sooo. The pictures need more practice but the good news is that less than two days after I first spotted my fabric-without-a-plan I had finished my first autumn sewing project and a comfy cardigan was packed in my suitcase for a weekend trip!

Edit: by special request now with crappy iPhone pic from the trip. At the Song Dong exposition, Groninger Museum. 



28 comments:

  1. Such interesting fabric - looks great. I like all of your jackets.

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    1. Thanks, Anne. I love wearing jackets and cardigans and the pile of patterns I want to sew this autumn and winter is steadily growing. More to come!

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  2. What a lovely/fluffy/cozy cardigan! Pack your cardigan for a weekend and take more photos :)

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    1. Your wish is my command, just edited ;) We went away last weekend but sadly we didn't bring the dslr.

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  3. A beautiful cardigan! I love it! You look lovely & did a great job!
    Bonnie @ www.sewplus.blogspot.com

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  4. I love your cardigan, it looks so comfortable and smart. The facing as trim is a clever idea.

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    1. It is! I'll certainly use that trick again. I chose to leave the seam allowances at just under 1 cm so the fluffiness filled the trim and gave it a slightly rounded effect. But I can also see it as a smaller, fine contrast line along the front of a crispy button down shirt!

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  5. Just gorgeous Marianne. You never feel guilty about fabric purchases when you cut out and sew a garment within days of bringing it home.

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    1. Thanks, Marjorie. Haha, chez Foxgloves we try not to use the words fabric and guilt in the same sentence!

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  6. Looks fantastic - a good fabric snaffle. Nothing like a satisfying quick make sometimes .

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    1. Thanks, Sarah Liz! I have plans to snaffle more autumn fabrics! (Had to look up the word, showing off my new vocabulary ;)

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  7. Gorgeous fabric and great result. Looks chic and comfortable at the same time.

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    1. Thanks, Sigrid. I really like the autumn fabric collection I've seen on offer. Last year I was having a bit of trouble finding better quality knits, so much better now!

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  8. What a great jacket! You'll get a lot of wear out of it.

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    1. Thanks, Julie. I think so too, but summer is temporarily back over here. Not complaining, but last week I wanted to sew everything cozy or purple, now it feels a bit weird :S

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  9. Beautiful! I dream of finding a beautiful boucle knit!

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    1. It's a rare find but I've seen a lot of experimental fabrics in the new collections!

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  10. This is a lovely cardigan. It looks both smart and comfortable.

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    1. Thanks! It's very comfortable and versatile. I think it can look good with jeans too, will try that once the weather gets cooler again.

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  11. What a beautiful jacket, Marianne! I love it unbuttoned... I am in awe how quickly you completed it - I'd say you were inspired!

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    1. I certainly was, Karen! Inspired by the fabric, and once I saw the weather forecast for the weekend I just knew I wanted to take it with me. I finished the last hand stitching late at night, something I seldom do since I pledged to avoid deadline sewing.

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  12. Glorious! So glamorous yet practical. It looks very "high end". Brava!

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