Trying out a free pattern- A Review of The Alicia Cardigan.

 My Goodness!  No post since the end of May.  Time to remedy that.  I intend to write some posts about items made from FREE patterns so here is the first.

It's the Alicia Cardigan, described as an easy cotton jersey cardigan,  from Sew Magazine Click here for link. There are many free patterns on the Sew magazine website, not just for garments but for all sorts of sewn items, that you can download.  You do need to register before you can download a pattern but it is a simple process. 

The cardigan has an open front with no fastenings and you require no interfacing so it is ideal for sewing when non-essential shops are closed and all you have to hand is fabric and thread. The size range goes from UK size 8 to size 20.  The fabric amount required is given as 1.3 metres of 150 cm wide with no indication of any variation of the amount between the sizes.

I wanted to use up fabric left over from previous makes and orginally thought I could make the garment  by pairing two jersey fabrics of the same weight and doing some colour blocking.  However I did not have enough fabric to do that and tried it out in a thin polyester knit that I had bought for a pittance in Fabricland's Brighton branch closing down sale.  I intended to use it for wearable toiles and had already made a long-sleeve t-Shirt from it.  I still did not have enough to cut out the pieces as indicated and had to piece the neckband and the sleeves.

 

The pattern has 4 pieces contained on a PDF of 20 pages of  A4.  I always trace my patterns, even PDFs.  A tip that I received recently was not to stick all the pages together before tracing but to put together only the pages for one piece at a time and to trace just that piece before going on to the next piece.  I had not thought of this before.  It was very useful advice as any misalignment of a page can lead to a distortion of the following pattern pieces by the time they are all stuck together.

The cutting instructions (how many to cut, when to place on fold etc) are clear on each pattern piece.  The seam allowance is included and is 1 cm throughout.  The instructions are concise (consisting of 4 brief paragraphs) as there are no darts, gathers or pleats with which to contend.  One thing that perturbed me was that the armhole was the same at the front and the back and thus the sleeve head was  same on both sides also. A well drafted pattern would have a difference as you require more fabric across the back. In a woven pattern this would make a difference but, as this is a knit garment with an open front, it seemed to work well enough when I tried it on.   Sleeves are set in on the flat and I had no problem easing the sleevehead to fit the armhole.  Where I had to piece the sleeves for wrist length I stitched either side of the seam across the sleeve and hoped it looked like a design feature.

In order to reinforce the idea of deliberate design I also stitched either side of the shoulder seams.  I am still debating whether to stitch around the neckband also but will wear it a few times before deciding.

Paragraph 3 told me to turn up the hem in such a way that it created the appearance of a band being added to the bottom of the cardigan.  I did not like this and did a normal hem, which I stitched down with lightning stitch ( also known as stretch stitch)  This gives a bolder look (a bit like topstitching) than an ordinary straight stitch without the need to change to topstitching thread and I preferred it in this case to zigzag or twin needling.

 

The final paragraph, number 4, dealt with the neckband.  This is where I came a cropper!  The neckband consists of 2 pieces, just long rectangles, that are joined at the centre back at the short sides.  Because, once more, I did not have pieces long enough left amongst the remaining scraps I had to cut the neckband in 4 pieces making sure I added a seam allowance for sewing the pieces together.  I should have ended up with four pieces of the same size- but I didn't and I didn't realise this until I had sewn the neck band pieces together.   I do not know how I managed this as I thought I had been so careful with regard to the cutting of the pieces.  I was worried about carrying out the instructions for attaching the neckband, which involved folding the band so the right sides are together and stitching the short ends of the neckband across. With the neckband turned to the right side it is stitched to the cardigan front.  However this means that the neckband must be precisely the correct length.  After my cutting faux pas I could not guarantee that it would be.  I thus tackled the neckband by not sewing the ends together but attaching one side to the front with a 1 cm seam allowance, folding the neckband over to the wrong side, turning under 1 cm and invisibly hand stitching it down.  This meant that the neckband seam was completely enclosed and not exposed on the inner side as it would be if the method given in the instructions were to be followed. The neckband lies very nicely around the back of the neck.

I did think of adding pockets, this is not included in the pattern but I cut out a test patch pocket and lined it to avoid stretch but I did not like the look of it on the thin fabric.

So what is my final verdict?  I cut the size 10 and did not alter the fit in any way.  It is a perfect fit.  I am pleased with it and it will be a very useful addition to my wardrobe.  For a change it looks better on me than it does on the mannequin.   It only takes a small amount of fabric and is quick to make. It is made from cheap polyester so I do not expect it to wear well.  Once lockdown is over I shall be out looking for some thicker jersey to make another one ( colour undecided) - unless I discover something suitable hidden in my stash beforehand.

If you are looking for an open front cardigan then you may also be interested in another free pattern in the same sort of style, The Harper Cardigan and Duster by Sinclair Patterns

This comes in 3 different height sizes (Petite, regular and tall) and 3 lengths and includes pockets amd 3 different sleeve lengths.  There is a sewing demonstration on Youtube from Beyond The Pink Door (click for link)

Keep sewing and stay safe, for your sake and for the sake of others.