6 years ago
A Great Alternative to a Cardigan
Hello once again from Manitoba. When I photographed this, the sky was valiantly trying to be blue and sunny, but we were expecting a snowfall in the forecast over the next day or two and I can see the clouds trying to overtake the blue.
So let’s talk about the sewing! As a school librarian I often joke that wearing a cardigan is part of the librarian uniform. Seriously though, I wear cardigans ALL the time. My collection of Blackwoods, Avieros and Castillos is a bit crazy. Lets not even get started on my ridiculous amount of hand knit cardis. So given that I thought maybe I should change things up a bit in my wardrobe. Not a replacement for the cardigan, just a different option. Something that, like a cardigan, can be thrown on as a layering piece, something lightweight and easy.
When I saw the viscose twill on the Minerva website, inspiration hit hard and swift. I’d been eyeballing the Helen’s Closet Pona jacket and realized paired with the lightweight viscose twill it was EXACTLY the alternative to a cardigan I was wanting in my wardrobe.
With no closures to worry about it would be an easy to sew, easy to wear piece and the small floral print would give it a boost in interest. I was definitely sold on the idea. Hook. Line. Sinker.
Sewing the Pona really is easy. It’s so straightforward and even a beginner sewist could manage to make it with the super detailed instructions Helen provides! Because it’s such an easy make I decided to give it some extra attention to details. I could have easily opted to just finish the edges of the seams by serging them, and it would have been just fine, but given the oversized open design of the Pona I thought a pop of colour would be so much fun peaking out when I move about my day. Even if no one else were ever to see it, that pop of colour would be fun for me just knowing it was there. Anyone else like that? I’m sure it’s not just me who enjoys a secret surprise of colour on the inside of a garment. So I took the time to do a solid red Hong Kong finish on all my seams. It delights me every single time I look at it!
In for a penny, in for a pound, I decided the pockets should also have a secret surprise of colour too so I lined them in red as well. I love how it all came together!
The viscose twill was fairly easy to work with. I did take my time cutting it out, because on my slippery dining room table it was a little bit shifty, but certainly not as shifty as other lighter weight viscose (think Challis) can be. So if you’ve wrangled that, this will be a breeze. … Also if you use a surface much less slippery than my dining room table you’ll be A-ok.
Sewing it was easy, a few extra pins for the longer seams and I was fine. Of course, being a viscose it presses like a dream. Oh, how I love a fabric that presses well! It’ll also wrinkle like a nightmare I’m sure, but I can definitely accept that in my perfect alternative to a cardigan!
Happy crafting until next time!
Hello once again from Manitoba. When I photographed this, the sky was valiantly trying to be blue and sunny, but we were expecting a snowfall in the forecast over the next day or two and I can see the clouds trying to overtake the blue.
So let’s talk about the sewing! As a school librarian I often joke that wearing a cardigan is part of the librarian uniform. Seriously though, I wear cardigans ALL the time. My collection of Blackwoods, Avieros and Castillos is a bit crazy. Lets not even get started on my ridiculous amount of hand knit cardis. So given that I thought maybe I should change things up a bit in my wardrobe. Not a replacement for the cardigan, just a different option. Something that, like a cardigan, can be thrown on as a layering piece, something lightweight and easy.
When I saw the viscose twill on the Minerva website, inspiration hit hard and swift. I’d been eyeballing the Helen’s Closet Pona jacket and realized paired with the lightweight viscose twill it was EXACTLY the alternative to a cardigan I was wanting in my wardrobe.
With no closures to worry about it would be an easy to sew, easy to wear piece and the small floral print would give it a boost in interest. I was definitely sold on the idea. Hook. Line. Sinker.
Sewing the Pona really is easy. It’s so straightforward and even a beginner sewist could manage to make it with the super detailed instructions Helen provides! Because it’s such an easy make I decided to give it some extra attention to details. I could have easily opted to just finish the edges of the seams by serging them, and it would have been just fine, but given the oversized open design of the Pona I thought a pop of colour would be so much fun peaking out when I move about my day. Even if no one else were ever to see it, that pop of colour would be fun for me just knowing it was there. Anyone else like that? I’m sure it’s not just me who enjoys a secret surprise of colour on the inside of a garment. So I took the time to do a solid red Hong Kong finish on all my seams. It delights me every single time I look at it!
In for a penny, in for a pound, I decided the pockets should also have a secret surprise of colour too so I lined them in red as well. I love how it all came together!
The viscose twill was fairly easy to work with. I did take my time cutting it out, because on my slippery dining room table it was a little bit shifty, but certainly not as shifty as other lighter weight viscose (think Challis) can be. So if you’ve wrangled that, this will be a breeze. … Also if you use a surface much less slippery than my dining room table you’ll be A-ok.
Sewing it was easy, a few extra pins for the longer seams and I was fine. Of course, being a viscose it presses like a dream. Oh, how I love a fabric that presses well! It’ll also wrinkle like a nightmare I’m sure, but I can definitely accept that in my perfect alternative to a cardigan!
Happy crafting until next time!
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