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Bathrobe Chic(k) Cardigan
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Title: Bathrobe Chic(k) Cardigan
Fabric: Charcoal Sweaterknit fleece from Ressy's co-op
Buttons: Stash
My second garment of the weekend was this Bathrobe- or Kimono-style cardigan. It's the warmest, yummiest thing!
The fabrics is what really makes this so fantastic. It's a sweaterknit fleece that I got sometime earlier from the Fabrics and Notions Co-op on Yahoo! Groups. I love it, and there's enough left to make something else. Yay!
The double-breasted style needed something to keep the front in place. I wanted to leave off the buttons, but it just bothered me too much hanging down in front.
I tried to add a tie belt, but that didn't suit either.
The cardigan is short and I am on the short-ish side of average with a short waist. Adding a round tie belt just didn't look right. Plus, I learned with my brown linen SWAP jacket that I cannot leave the ties alone. I always want to spin them when I walk down the hall, unless my hands are full of something else. Spinning the ends of your tie belt does not contribute to the dignified image that I would prefer to create at work!
Buttons had to be put on, despite the fact that I knew buttonholes would be difficult on this fabric. In the end, I used the stretch buttonhole on my Bernina, and no two are the same size. The fleece is so thick that the automatic buttonhole foot, which would have made 4 buttonholes of the same size, wouldn't feed the fabric. I had to "eyeball it" and I am not good at that. I can never see my markings well enough to get it lined up perfectly. Thread tracing might help. Perhaps I'll remember that *next time*.
My inspiration for this cardigan was a dolman sweater at Anthropologie that is no longer on their site. Mine doesn't look much like the original, but that doesn't matter to me.
I drafted the garment from PMB's Kimono draft. When I got ready to cut it, the fabric was not quite wide enough to lay the large pieces in the direction I had chosen without wasting a lot. I decided to cut off the sleeves and make a separate sleeve pattern piece. Although this puts what appears to be a shoulder seam halfway down my arm, I don't really mind it. I sewed that seam very carefully so that I didn't stretch it and cause ripples.
When it came time to cut the collar, I decided to turn the fleecy side out. So far I love the look. I hope it washes well. I also decided on a similar treatment for the sleeve hems. When I cut the separate sleeve, I lengthened it enough to roll the cuff back. The cuffs won't stay in place on their own, so I tacked them where I wanted them.
The garment hem was a chore. I tried a blind hem, but the fabric is so thick that the hemstitches would only catch the fleece and would pull right out. Next I tried a double needle stitch, but that method put too much of a horizontal line across my hip. If I had not been using fleece, I would have fused it, but this stuff melts and I was afraid the fusing wouldn't hold. Finally I just used a catch stitch hem. It shows, but I'm reserving judgement for a while.
- Garment Type= Jacket
- Style= Kimono Jacket
- Closure= Double Breasted
- Front Neckline= Shawl
- Back Neckline= Jewel
- Darts= Waist
- Upper Back Dart= No Darts
- Sideseam shape= Fitted
- Center Back Style= Straight
- Front Waist Darts=2
- Back Waist Darts=2
- Button Size=0.5
- Number of Buttons= 5
- Front Neckline Depth= 14
- Back Neckline Depth= 0.375
- Neckline Width= 0.5
- Neckline Point= 0
- Armhole Depth= 0.5
- Dart Override=0
- Side/Arm Point=-0.5
- Side/Hip Point=-0.5
- CF/Extension=0
- Cb/Extension=0
- Shoulder Pad=0
- Finished Length= 24
- Flare= 0
- Upper Back Dart Length=1
- Lower Front Dart Length=4.5
- Lower Back Dart Length=4.5
- Back Shoulder Dart Length=3
- Sleeve Style=Kimono
- Sleeve Cap Ease=0
- Sleeve Length=23.5
- Sleeve Hem Circumference=13
- Sleeve Cap Height= -0.75
- Back Armhole Shape Up=0.8 Clicks
- Collar Style= Shawl
- Collar Width=4
- Shawl Collar Type=Standard
- Shawl Notch Type=Straight
- Chest Ease= 4.5
- Waist Ease= 4.5
- Hip Ease= 5
- Rounded the underarm seam to a pleasing arc