The changing of the more “extreme” seasons to the more “transitional” ones always causes me to want to refresh. And after a nice and toasty summer around here, I’m excited for it to be cardigan and jeans weather again. So, for my latest project as a Britex Blogger, I chose this great heathered gray and navy stripe cotton knit to make a lightweight cardigan to ease me into fall.
The pattern I used is the Julia Cardigan by Mouse House Creations. The collar of the Julia Cardigan is what drew me to it – it’s a flattering shawl style, which I thought would look great with the striped, drapey knit that I chose. It’s one of those designs that seems to look good on everyone!
I sewed a medium, modifying the sleeves to be more fitted by overlaying the Hey June Union St Tee then tapering to the pattern at the armpit. I like to shove my sleeves up my arms, so the pattern’s original bell-shaped sleeve wouldn’t quite work for me (tip from Kelly). I then cut the cuffs slightly shorter than my new sleeve width. I might shorten the sleeves a bit next time as well after seeing these photos (or add thumbholes? ha).
I added 1/2” strips of interfacing to the shoulder seams to stabilize and reinforce them (that’s a trick I learned from Liesl), and sewed the entire sweater with my serger.
I ran into some trouble attaching the collar. The knit is quite drapey so it was hard to know which way was “up” just by looking at the shapes. I needed a few more pattern notches to guide me, and for the notches to be shown in the pattern instruction photos themselves for reference. Once I started pinning to attach the collar, I had a bunch of extra fabric that didn’t line up with the sweater! Other bloggers haven’t mentioned this issue, so I’m not sure if it was just a matter of me trying to attach the wrong edge or if it was a drafting error (I measured the collar pieces and the medium appears to be about 7” longer than the extra small even though the sweater body doesn’t seem to have nearly that much extra length between sizes).
After some trial and error, I ended up eliminating the bottom panel piece entirely and the collar fit with just a bit of stretching. The back doesn’t sit quite as nicely as it should, but it’s totally wearable.
Lightweight knits can be tricky to sew, but this one was surprisingly easy and my serger handled it well! It’s drapey but not very stretchy, so it didn’t “grow” like stretchier knits tend to do. The fact that I chose the view with doubled up collar and the sleeves are finished with cuffs meant no hemming too, which is always a bonus.
I love the fit and style of the cardigan, and really love wearing it! As I hoped, the stripes swooped around the sweater and made this a really interesting-looking basic that I’ll reach for again and again. It’s light but warm, super soft, and the colors are great. My 6 year old daughter grabbed my scraps and wrapped them around herself into a fancy maxi skirt while I was sewing, so it has her vote of approval, too!
I definitely want to try it again to see if the collar problem persists, since I do love the fit and design. I might just go ahead and shorten the collar’s side panels to the XS cutting lines as a preemptive measure?
I’d highly recommend sewing up a shirt/top/dress with this knit to give yourself a jump on your fall wardrobe – it’s 72” wide and only $9.99/yd on sale right now which is a great bargain! I know I’ll be looking to wear this sweater as often as I can get away with.
Thanks for having me, Britex!
P.S. As you may have guessed, Britex provided me with the fabric shown here in exchange for me blogging about it. I purchased the Julia Cardigan pattern.
P.P.S. I’ve worn it in photos before, but my necklace is from here if you were wondering. My husband stalked my Pinterest board a couple years back to get it for me and I love it. 🙂
skirt as top 
this is really cute in a stripe! i’ve made this cardigan but didn’t have any problem matching the band up. the shorter pieced part matches up with the lower back, and then there is a seam at the center of the back neckline. i happen to have mine on right now, so i looked. anyways, this is a really clever pattern and i plan to make more this fall!
I love this cardigan — the stripes are so classic. I’ve made 3 of these cardigans so far and I noticed a distinct difference in the one I made with a sweater knit. The pattern was perfect on the two I made in sturdier jerseys with spandex, but I made one in a super-soft sweater knit and had a similar issue, though not to the same degree. My collar band piece stretched out and I had funny puckering at the back. I was making size S so it might be an issue with the M pattern size but I think there’s a distance possibility it’s the fabric. I’d be interested to see if you have the same problem in a sturdier fabric.
thanks lisa & katie – yeah it was my side panels that seemed way too long and katie i totally checked your post when i was struggling! i dunno! the problem happened while i was pinning, before i even sewed it on, so i don’t think it was growth-while-serging (i’ve had that happen before with other fabrics). i ripped the collar apart and checked it against the pattern and it still looked like the right shape/size. i tried it a couple times actually, making sure i was attaching the right edge the second time, and it just did not fit! so weird. i think it might be a bit too much length added to the side collar pieces as the sizes increase? it’s probably a combination of fabric type AND pattern though, in reality.
Hmmm, well I guess as long as you can modify for next time! And I’m so glad you were able to make this cardigan work — that fabric is too amazing for a failed garment! (oh and I will totally be copying your fall sweater since I just bought some of that fabric. Hope you don’t mind 🙂 ).
Yet another thing I would totally copy if we didn’t live in the same town! It looks so good, that’s a great stripe. When I made mine I also found it a bit confusing, figuring out the band and which way all the pieces should go. I had to really study the pictures in the instructions! Next time I would probably add my own notches to make it easier. Anyway, yours looks great in the end so nice work 🙂
thanks kelly! make one, we’ll be matching twins on playdates. the kids would love it. 😉
It looks great – pattern problems and all. What a great fall staple!
Very cute Kristin, and I would imagine very wearable. So love a good serger project for fast results.
Oh this is what you were talking about last week. I love the stripes. I’m gonna have to try this out and see if my result is any different. But seriously, the ability to make my own cardigans- I’ll never need to go shopping again. Now if someone would just get on a good jeans pattern I’d be golden.
I love this, Kristin! This is something I would wear all the time! And the thin knit would be perfect for me here where it’s generally hot, but sometimes stores and restaurants keep their AC too cool. You look fab and I love your necklace, too!
Dang it, child. This is cute! Enjoy the extra layer of sewing guilt. I love either shoving my sleeves up or pulling them over my hands, so your sleeve length looks perfect.
ahhh, that looks like the comfiest sweater, and those stripes are great. also, i’m studying your modeling skillz…. 🙂
You look fantastic in this!! Sorry you had issues with matching up the seams, but I hope it was due to the stretchy fabric… I am going to remeasure the pieces tomorrow to be sure, as I don’t want a faulty pattern out there! I will let you know what I find. Either way, I am so glad that you love the cardigan and it definitely suits you… I have thought about making one with the thumb holes in it too ha!
thank you hayley, i appreciate it! please do let me know what you find – i want to make another with a less slinky fabric to see how that works too. it was hard to write a critical review when others haven’t mentioned any trouble – it very well could have been my error/the fabric but i can’t know without trying again. i really do love the design! 🙂
I sewed up a medium in a riley blake jersey with no problems matching the collar and “bum” piece. My issue is that with a long torso I need to lengthen the back length…..so I could use that extra length on yours for my sweater!
Too cute! Love them stripes and the overall shape too. Can’t go wrong with a stripey cardigan, great job Miss!
Lovely! Defintley a wardrobe staple…great to make things that will be worn a lot, makes it totally worth it!
Agree, this looks like something I’d wear all the time!
And you are looking very well!!
hey Kristen! This just does not look handmade, I don’t believe you! I’ve got some time while in a hospital two states away from our other children to do some blog reading. You have made so many impressive garments for yourself lately! You have come such a long way and your skill level blows me away! Keep it up girl!
aw thanks dude! haha yeah, so much time on your hands. thanks for your sweet comment, you’re the best. 🙂
I love this cardi so so much and you are just rocking it, girl! The stripes were an excellent choice and I need to get me some 72-inch wide knit — so cool! I agree that this is a totally flattering cut too.
Hi. I really like this cozy cardigan. I was just curious since the width of the yardage is so generous how much fabric did you need to make the cardigan? I plan on purchasing this soon while it’s on sale. Thanks!
i followed the recommended yardage when placing my order with britex, and i didn’t have much leftover – i think because of the stripe matching and the large curved collar pieces. i did the doubled up collar too – it is a bit of a fabric hog pattern but the doubled collar looks so nice!
I sewed up this cardigan twice and the second time I used really thin, drapey knit. It definitely affected the way things lined up in the collar region. I will say that I initially lined up the bottom panel upside down and had to rip it out. The bottom panel is angled and it seemed to me that the longer side should match up to the bottom of the cardigan…but that was wrong and totally changed the way the collar attached. I finally figured it out but more notches would have definitely been helpful in that way. The cardigan is so worth it though. I love mine. And I have to say that yours looks awesome! The stripes are heavenly.
oh thank you so much for your comment!! i think that’s exactly what happened to me – it was hard to tell which way was up with the drapey knit and it caused all sorts of issues. i’d probably add my own “up” indicators next time.
Pretty, Kristin! And wow, you are looking great. I have really been wanting to sew a sweater, maybe I’ll have to test this one out. I’m looking for one that buttons up though… Nice work as always!
aw thanks girl! the baby is a pretty amazing nurser, plus i’m playing futsal once a week! seems to be doing the trick.
i want to try making the greenpoint cardigan in a size 10 or 12, maybe with some added length – don’t you think that’d work?? http://www.heyjunehandmade.com/greenpoint-cardigan.html
wow, I totally took a blog reading break! So much to catch up on! Anyway, I had to comment because when I first saw your pictures I thought, ooh I love those sleeves! lol! I did all the size testing for the Greenpoint when I was designing it because I’m a dumbass and didn’t ask for help, so I tried on the 12. If you lengthen the sleeves and body it definitely works, but it’s more of a fitted cardigan. You’re a superstar though – you could just trace one or draft one up yourself – or use the Lane or Union st. and cut it up the center!