I’ve been dying to show you this make. I was so lucky to be able to pattern test this before its general release. It’s the new Iris cardigan from Minerva’s exclusive patterns. Iris is a knee-length cardigan (which I would normally probably avoid due to my chair) but because it has side splits it works well. I can sit comfortably on the back section without the front pulling too much to the side meaning it’s much easier to keep to the front and not get caught up in my wheels.

The pattern only consist of three pieces, (a front, back and neckband) so it’s a quick make and great for medium to heavy weight knit fabrics. It’s so versatile as it can be worn in the summer over dresses and t-shirts and throughout the winter layered over long sleeve tops. I also imagine it would look great made up in one of the velvet stretch knits for Christmas parties or what about a fur knit fabric for total decadence!

As with all Minerva patterns, the written instructions are really clear with diagrams and there will also be a sew along video to guide you.

The drop sleeves give the cardigan a lovely shape and the open neckline makes it easy to pop on over many kinds of outfits without having to worry about clashing collars.

I definitely recommend you try this pattern as I think it will become a staple in many people’s wardrobes.

I chose to pair the pattern with a gorgeous chunky cotton sweater knit from Minerva’s core range in a lovely ginger colour, which is a deep gold. It’s such a fantastic fabric that really does look as though I’ve spent hours knitting the cable pattern. I was very kindly gifted this fabric in return for testing the pattern.

I looked at the finished garment measurements to determine my size because I didn’t want the cardigan to be too roomy as I knew it wouldn’t work well with my chair if there was too much fabric flapping about.

The first job was to overlock the edges of the fabric before carefully washing it. I decided to use the 30 degree wool wash on my machine and then line dried it, spread out over my rotary line so as not to stretch it.

It washed very well but it definitely did shrink during the wash so please don’t skip this step if you plan to use this fabric.

It is a thick fabric with an undulating thickness due to the texture of the knit pattern so my husband was a little nervous cutting this one out for me. He used a new blade in the rotary cutter and even tried scissors (which is unheard of) but did revert back to the rotary as he felt it was more accurate. When it came to transferring the pattern markings, It was never going to be an option to cut the notches, so we drew these on using a chalk pencil.

I immediately overlocked each piece as he cut it to out to avoid it fraying and unraveling. I did leave the blade engaged to catch any stray fray bits, but was really careful not to trim any of the fabric off or to stretch it out.

For construction I used a combination of my normal sewing machine fitted with a jersey 90/14 needle which is ballpoint and my overlocker.

The fabric pressed well on a wool setting on my iron and it didn’t squash the design of the cables too much.

The only part of construction that I know would be challenging (if I hadn’t got my new super duper overlocker) is attaching the neckband because the three layers of fabric are very thick. Fortunately my machine coped with it perfectly but I know for a fact my old overlocker definitely wouldn’t have.

I’m so pleased with this cardigan and it turns out it’s a perfect match for my Cashmerette Montdale dress in Minerva’s Jungle dreamer linen viscose. I’m looking forward to finding lots of other ways to wear it over the coming months.

Wheelchair considerations

This design works well for me because I use an electric chair, if you use a manual chair you may need to shorten it to avoid it catching in your wheels.

Check your measurements against the finished garment sizes to make the cardigan the right fit for your shape and chair. The pattern is quite loose fitting if you go by body measurements.

The hem seams of the cardigan fell below my knees so weren’t uncomfortable to sit on at all.

(Image descriptions: there are six images taken from different angles showing Yvonne sat in her wheelchair in her garden. She is wearing a knee length collar less ginger cardigan with drop sleeves.)

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