I’ve made another little cardigan… the last, I promise! for at least a little while!
I didn’t really need another one but I said I’d thought of yet another little way the construction of this design could be improved? naturally I just had to try it out…
Fabric; a toss-out from Mum, a cotton or something or another jersey, original provenance unknown. I barely had enough for the cardigan but just managed to squeak out the pieces; the tie is a little on the short side and is pieced in several places but no biggie, I still got it out! and the joins are lost in the print. I rather like the tie-dye print and my only concern was to avoid situating a bulls-eye in the boob-al region when cutting out. Mission accomplished!
Pattern; the Nettie, by Closet Case patterns, modified to be a cardigan with a loose extended neckband that hangs down in a shawl-y type of a way. The neck band on this, third, version of the design is a little short to be tied in the front like the last two iterations, so I’m planning to only wear them hanging loose like this.
My desire for a super-clean finish is finally satisfied with the insides on this last version… they are super neat and tidy! with no exposed seams or stitching, barring inside the sleeve/armhole. *happy sigh*
I’ve written my order of construction to illustrate how it all went together… it’s a little more fiddly than the previous methods but perfectly doable.
Cutting; cut the fronts on a centre fold so they are double layered. Same picture as the previous cardigan because it’s identical. I sized up a couple of sizes to get that looser cardigan fit, rather than the tight bodysuit-fit that the pattern is designed for.
NOW; the first step is to sew fronts to the back at the side seams, right sides together.
Now, fold the fronts in half, right sides together, and stitch the front facing to the back at the side seam over the previous stitching, enclosing the seam allowances within the front and front facing. You will need to pull the pieces inside out a little to make this step possible, basically you are sewing the front piece in a tube with the back piece encased between the two side edges. Grade seam allowances, turn out and press.
Cut the lower band to fit and stitch to the lower edge, keeping front facings free. You will need to stitch each front section and the back section of this seam separately to each other, stopping and starting at the side seams; fiddly? yes, but worth it in the end. Press open then down onto band.
Fold the band in half lengthwise and stitch the short edges, right sides together; trim and grade seam allowances, turn right sides out.
Snip all layers of the band seam allowances at the side seams, and also the lower band facing seam allowance at the same point.
Now, from the shoulders/top; reach inside the front/front facing “tube” and pull the lower edge where it’s stitched to the lower band through along with the loose facing edge and band facing edges. Align all raw edges, taking care to make sure corners are sitting tight and accurately together because with a stretchy fabric it can be all too easy to stretch them out of place! and stitch the whole shebang together in one seam. Trim corners, grade seam allowances, pull it all right sides out and press.
Voila! yes it is a fiddly business but it look at that lovely absence of exposed seams on the fronts!
That last remainder of the lower band facing is turned under, pinned and hand-slipstitched in place. Hiding those seam allowances, too 🙂
Now stitch the shoulder seams, front to back, enclosing the back between the two fronts as for the previous version of this cardigan, here, in fact the remainder of construction is exactly the same… stitch sleeve seams, finish; set in sleeves, finish likewise; sleeve cuffs, as per this method; neckband, as per this method described for my previous cardigan.
Details:
Cardigan; the Nettie by Closet Case Patterns, modified as stated
Tshirt under; another Nettie, white jersey, details here
Shorts; Burda 7723, details here
Location; Bunker Bay, Dunsborough… we had it completely to ourselves! so lucky
What great person-dog photos. Maybe it's the mood I am in today but I'm finding them really touching! It looks like you two have such a nice connection.
Your cardigan is very cute, too!
Your spatial skills are superb! I want to try this method, but will definitely have the computer open to this page the entire time. 🙂 So very clever to have gone from the basic Nettie to this. And once again, I just want to give Sienna such a big hug, she is simply wonderful.
thank you so much Angela!
Great top – what a fun print!
Another beautiful cardigan! I really like the print. Thanks for the explanations 🙂
Lovely! I'd bet that extra layer in front also feels pretty nice when that ocean breeze gets chilly.
I love The print and your pattern placement is perfect. Another great cardi!
Love that tie dye! I'm saving these instructions for a rainy day as I've always pondered turning my knit bodice block into a cardigan.
Fantastic!!
This is a very clever pattern alteration. Using the Nettie pattern is clever because it provides a snugger fit than many cardigan patterns that can look too voluminous.
thanks Gail! Yes, the nettie pattern is nicely shaped and you're right, a lot of proper cardigan patterns have very little if no body shaping 🙂
Brilliant method of construction. Wonderful cardigan.
That's a very nice construction method. To get rid of ALL the visible inside stitching. I always hesitate about large double pieces, afraid they will become too heavy and pull the whole garment out of balance. Yours clearly doesn't suffer from that problem though.
Absolutely love this! Great cardigan and great construction method – thanks!
thank you Roberta!
Such a great Cardigan! Thank you so much for your tutorial! I love the last picture! 🙂
Great fun – and I love love the fabric you used.
This is fantastic! To take it one step more, you could also get rid of the hand-sewing at the lower band : after sewing the band to the lower edge and clipping the SAs, but before you reach down through the front and sew the band there, reach into the band at the back and turn it out (the bulk of the cardigan will be inside the band, so this would only work with light fabrics / a wide band). Does it make sense? I can't wait to try a cardigan like this!
I missed your previous post so when I read Nettie … I had to read again to convince myself it's the Nettie! Brilliant and brilliant tutorial !
How fun and amazing pattern change.
Love all the recent cardis and appreciate your taking the time to write this tutorial too. This one may be my favorite. The tie-dye has a most unique look. 🙂
Thanks for the instructions for your impeccable clean finish, I am bookmarking this.
Amazing and so perfect! Thanks for the tutorial too.
Your cardigans are a great alternative to a tie blouse of which I am a huge fan.
Another gorgeous cardigan and thank you for the detailed instructions, one day!
That’s such a cool pattern hack! Love the fabric on this one!
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