Finally....the Star Wars Cardigan

The Star Wars cardigan that has been mentioned but never before pictured!

The fabric was a JAF purchase - on sale, naturally. The pattern is the Cocoon Cardigan, from Patterns for Pirates. I sewed this for a wedding held on May the Fourth. (May the Fourth be with you?) This is tunic length with three-quarter sleeves and short bands. I wasn't going to add the patch pockets - I was under deadline - but pockets are life! So I took the extra time and was really glad I did!

The pattern doesn't call for stabilizing the shoulder seams, but I was concerned about growth because of how stretchy the fabric is. So I cut strips of rib knit against the grain and used that to stabilize the shoulders. I did the same just behind the topstitching to anchor the pockets in place, then I cut them away near the stitching. It adds virtually no bulk but helps give more strength to the pocket attachment. And I added short "cuffs" instead of hemming the sleeves.

I plan to make more - I have two fabrics waiting for time. One is another Star Wars knit, and another is a Christmas paw print knit.....maybe I'll get that one sewn up over the holidays!

New twirly skirt!

My niece looooves her twirly skirts. I hear about it frequently, and I get to see them in action in pictures that her parents post! So when I stopped into a JAF with no plan in mind, I spotted the Christmas fabric on sale and just had to make her a new skirt to wear at Christmas. This is yet another Rachel skirt - I clearly haven't blogged all the ones I made, but there are quite a few.

Both the stripes and the gingerbread fabrics have a glittery metallic texture. I think they look like a lot of fun together! I lengthened the skirt a bit and basically just used the pattern for the measurements. The trim ruffle is doubled to avoid the need to hem. And both the main and trim pieces are done at 2:1 fullness. Since my serger decided that it didn't want to gather ruffles this week, I had to do them the old fashioned way, by zigzagging over thick crochet thread and then manually pulling the gathers and arranging them. Not. Fun. But I think she's going to love the finished result!

As usual, the doll skirt is a free online pattern.

More cardigans!

So my niece loved her cardigan prototype! And she wanted more. So what's an aunt to do but oblige? I had this knit print that I picked up somewhere, and it yielded enough for one cardigan for my niece (size 10 - the 8 fit her perfectly so I wanted some growth room), one cardigan for a friend's daughter (not pictured but identical except a size 2T), and one doll cardigan (pattern).

I went with the same pattern options as before - patch pockets, tunic length, short bands, and three-quarter sleeves. I used a rib knit cut against the grain to stabilize the shoulders and just behind the top of the pockets. And I added bands instead of hemming the sleeves. Way too lazy for that!

No changes to the pattern for the doll cardigan!

These are going in the box for her birthday present - I hope she loves them just as much as the last ones!