We had a serious end of summer heat wave that made me think summer would last forever, but we’ve begun having decidedly chilly mornings (like low 50’s F) so I guess we’re moving on to fall. I stitched up the Abby Cardi from StyleArc because I can never have too many cardigans for layering up. I used a cotton/poly blend interlock from a local store. I usually try to avoid poly blends, but this felt so very soft, and was in the absolute perfect color.
The thing I like about this cardigan is that it has a nice drape for the front, but doesn’t overwhelm you with fabric. I also really like how minimal the fabric is in the shawl collar. Sometimes having too much fabric weighing on the back of my neck gives me headaches, and I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that here.
The construction is fairly simple, but mitered corners at the shoulder/neck join are always a pain. The instructions don’t mention it, but definitely stay stitch around the corners before snipping into them. With the instructions as vague as they are, it took me a bit of head scratching to figure out where everything was supposed to align. Once I chucked the directions and started working it out on my own, it all came together super fast. I went for a nice clean finish on the collar/facing, and did a nifty burrito roll to encase the neckline seam.
The drape front is left with a raw edge, as is the entire hem. I prefer to avoid raw hems when possible, so I added a hem allowance to the back piece so I could hem that part, while leaving the front as is. I think this worked nicely, and I would definitely do it the same way in the future.
Here’s a few detail shots…
fold over facing from the inside, raw edge encased
added hem allowance to the back piece, front edge left raw
hem from the inside
As far as fit is concerned, I added some width from waist to hem on the side seams to accommodate my hips. The shoulder seam is falling off my shoulder a bit (I think I have somewhat narrow shoulders) and I wouldn’t mind an extra inch in sleeve length (I hemmed them at 1/2″ instead of the drafted 1″ to preserve a tiny bit of length). The sleeves were also a touch wide, so I trimmed them down.
Overall I’m very pleased with this pattern. The fact that it isn’t a fabric hog is a huge bonus. It was one of StyleArc’s free patterns of the month, and I’m glad I had it on hand when I had the itch for a new cardigan!
—lisa g.
TL;DR
PATTERN: StyleArc Abby Cardi
FABRIC: cotton/poly interlock knit from Fabric Basement (local)
SIZE: 8 (measurements for reference: 5’8″/34″/27.5″/39″)
MODS: Added hem allowance to the back piece
ALTERATIONS: added width at the hip, narrowed sleeve
NEXT TIME: bring in shoulder seam, lengthen sleeve
notes from a mad housewife 