Well it’s been a long time since my last post! Homeschooling and life in general has not left much time, or desire, to sew. I’m happy to say I finally got my sewjo back and made this cute cardigan.
In October my local fabric shop had a fantastic sale on fashion fabrics and I snagged this green knit. I had intended to use it for a basic t-shirt to fill in my wardrobe but decided I’d rather have a cardigan instead. McCall’s 7199 is a pattern I’ve had for a few years and just never got around to sewing. The style lines are so nice and really drew me to the pattern! The pattern has four views but all are the same exception of closures and contrasting fabric. View A is with an asymmetrical zipper, B is open front, C has a toggle closure, and D is open front with contrasting fabric.
The pattern works best with moderate to heavy weight knits with moderate stretch. The fabric I used was lightweight and I knew that might make it more challenging but I threw caution to the wind and used it anyway! I didn’t have enough fabric for the lining and sleeves so I used a grey sweater knit scrap for the lining. I cut the sleeves a few inches shorter, and added a roll cuff in the grey sweater knit to tie it all together.
For some reason I thought this pattern was going to be challenging to put together and that’s why I put off making it for so long. The construction was simple and went together nicely. It did take some time to topstitch all the seams and hand sew the lining inside but it really wasn’t too bad. I used a single needle for topstitching since I was worried a double needle would cause tunneling with the thin knit.
Next time I will be making this pattern in a heavier knit, you know, like the pattern suggested in the first place! I think the style lines will show better on more substantial fabric. I have a dark teal ponte that will work great for this pattern!
