I don't knit. Sometimes I'll have a very short lived knitting streak that often ends with me balling up whatever it is I'm working on, needles and all, and throwing it into a box or bag and shoving it to the back of the closet. I just don't have the patience for knitting. I won't lie, it's partly instant gratification that keeps me sewing. Sewing, you can produce something in about 4-6 hours (an afternoon). In that same amount of time as a knitter I will have... a sleeve of something.
I bought this "sweater knit" fabric on Fashion Fabrics Club this winter, intending to make a sweater dress with it. It turns out that the knit backing is a little too scratchy for my liking so I decided against a dress, but a cardigan could be a go. Burda issued an open drapy cardigan, intended for woven fabrics, in November and I debated trying it. Here's the result.
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| Burda 11-2010-133, front. I don't remember what was so fascinating on the floor. |
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| Burda 11-2010-133. I am in there somewhere. My arms are so short I needed to roll the cuffs. |
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| Burda 11-2010-133, The Coccoon |
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| If I can work out some way to stand around with my hands on my hips all day, this might work. |
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| Inside is all serged. You can get a good idea of how fluid the collar is in this photo. |
The fabric is super drapy and given how much ease there is in the pattern (I cut the smallest size, 36), I am lost in a sweater cocoon. I think I could have interfaced the collar to give it more body and shape, but what's done is done. The fabric was a mess to sew, lint and little black specks of knit confetti all over my apartment! I thought that the sweater would be drapy enough that it wouldn't be so cocoon like (I guess, be more fluid?) and while I'm not unhappy with it, I'm not exactly thrilled either.
Is the problem that I'm mismatching fabric to design? Or that I haven't taken the time to style it? Here's how it looks in the magazine. In the first photo, it does look pretty drapy on the model. In both photos, it's apparent that the sleeves are super long so it's not odd that they are orangutanish on me. Maybe I should belt it as in the lower photo? Thoughts, dear readers?
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| It doesn't seems quite so huge on the model. |
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| Maybe the secret is having a friend hold it snug to your waist. |
a month ago, I would have loved to crawl up in that sweater, it looks so comfortable!!!
ReplyDelete:-). I like the bring-a-friend idea. Seriously, the magazine version is not a sweater knit, it's a lot lighter than that. And you really shouldn't interface that stuff, if you feel lost now you'll totally disappear behind a stiff collar. There are 2 things you could do to the sleeves: shorten them of course, but consider making them narrower so you can crinkle them up at the bottom, a nice look which will make the whole thing slimmer. And definitely belt it..
ReplyDeleteGood color though, don't you agree? And it looks warm, which is still a good thing or will be very good in 6 months.
Warm and cozy! I like.
ReplyDeleteI can understand your ambiguity about this. The design is very similar to the Burda "esther" cardigan-thing that I made a while back and had a similar response to. I like the IDEA of both of them. Yours looks cozy and warm but perhaps the fabric is too bulky for the look you want. I'd try a belt and the cute friend accessory! If you're still not thrilled with it, relegate it to warm home loungewear.
ReplyDeleteDid you interface the collar and edging. From the photo it doesn't look like it. This may have helped shape it.
ReplyDeleteI think you should try belting... it looks super warm and cozy and comfortable!
ReplyDeleteI think you got the same look as in the magazine, so I don't think it's you. I kind of like it--looks very cozy. It just needs to be layered with fitted pieces underneath.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't love it, gift it to someone. No need in you trying to force yourself to like it.
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