McCalls 6844 must be one of the most popular patterns released last fall. To date, there are 33 reviews on PatternReview.com. This is the pattern envelope photo:
The construction of this cardigan was very quick and easy. I didn't interface the front bands and I am happy with the result. I used a sueded jersey knit from Denver Fabrics. The sueded just means that the wrong side is a little fuzzy, which is very nice and cozy.
One more thing to check out...the hems:
Wait a minute...that looks like...is it?...Yes! It IS!! A Cover-Stitched Hem! That's right friends, Santa was good to me this year. (And by Santa I mean me) My husband is not good at gift giving/shopping, so I placed the order for a Brother 2340CV and received it while he was out of the country on a business trip.
I sent him a facebook chat: "You just bought me a lovely Christmas gift. Thank you."
His response was: "?"
I have been putting money aside for most of the year saving up for a Cover-Stitch machine. I had been looking at the Janome 1000cpx, but I simply could not justify the extra $$$ for it. My serger is a brother (5234PRW), and I am very happy with it, so I felt comfortable with the brand.
So there it is, my first finished garment of 2014 and my January Garment of the Month.
It is a cardigan with peplum and length variations. Here are the line drawings:
I am not on the peplum bandwagon, so I made view B, the longer version with no peplum. Why am I not on the peplum bandwagon do you ask? Well, #1: I'm not a trend follower, and I often dislike trends on the principle of them being trends, rather than what they are. #2: I really really don't need extra volume at the hip/butt, I have plenty of volume on my own.
I bought the pattern in the Large-XXL size range, before reading the reviews on PR.com. Most of the reviews said that the pattern ran large and that cutting a size smaller than your measurements suggest is wise. I, however, was skeptical and only adjusted the shoulders. I cut a Large and graded to an XL at the hip. I cut the each of shoulders about 1/2" narrower than a size Large. While the shoulder width is now pretty good, there is still too much width across the upper back and across the upper bust. I will grade the pattern down in those areas to make it more like a Medium.
The pattern states that this is a close fitting cardigan whose fronts do not meet. Wrong!! Even though I essentially cut a size too big, the fronts definitely overlap. See?
Here it is belted and unbelted. I am very short waisted; my natural waist is only a few inches below my bra band and I always wonder how it looks when I wear belts like this.
Granted, with a big, loose style of cardigan like this, not cinching it in some way can add all-over volume, which isn't a great look either. I'm not sure which way is best. Here are some back views. See how I really don't need the extra volume that a peplum would give me? I'm all natural baby!
The construction of this cardigan was very quick and easy. I didn't interface the front bands and I am happy with the result. I used a sueded jersey knit from Denver Fabrics. The sueded just means that the wrong side is a little fuzzy, which is very nice and cozy.
One more thing to check out...the hems:
Wait a minute...that looks like...is it?...Yes! It IS!! A Cover-Stitched Hem! That's right friends, Santa was good to me this year. (And by Santa I mean me) My husband is not good at gift giving/shopping, so I placed the order for a Brother 2340CV and received it while he was out of the country on a business trip.
I sent him a facebook chat: "You just bought me a lovely Christmas gift. Thank you."
His response was: "?"
I have been putting money aside for most of the year saving up for a Cover-Stitch machine. I had been looking at the Janome 1000cpx, but I simply could not justify the extra $$$ for it. My serger is a brother (5234PRW), and I am very happy with it, so I felt comfortable with the brand.
So there it is, my first finished garment of 2014 and my January Garment of the Month.
