Navy Cardigan Top

When it comes to sewing plans, mine are a complete mix. Some projects I have planned for months and others are completely spur of the moment. I always find it refreshing to make something quick and easy after a more in depth project and it's nice to be able to make something that wasn't planned so that there's is no expectation about how it's going to turn out. I also really like being able to grab some fabric I have lying around and make something completely different when I don't have a sewing project on the go. 

This top was definitely a spontaneous make. I've seen a few cardigan style tops recently and wanted to have a go at drafting and sewing one. For most of this project I had absolutely no idea about how it was going to turn out and this was made possible through the fabric, a jersey that I bought for 2€ a metre from a market in Bordeaux! I bought a couple of others including the white one for this top at the same time and they are perfect for exactly this kind of project. The fabric actually feels really nice and I thought it would be absolutely perfect to use for wearable toiles when I'm drafting a design. Having the cheap fabric means I'm free to experiment as it doens't matter if the final garment actually works out.

This top is a pretty similar concept to my jersey shirt. I really like the look of buttons with jersey and although I love the design of the shirt I wanted to give a slightly different design a go. I used my much loved technique of sewing the buttons through both layers of fabric to avoid buttons holes on jersey which is such a great solution when sewing with stretchy fabric that can easily slip over your head. For the button band I actually used this tutorial on binding a neckband. I don't think I'd ever use this technique to bind a neckband but it was perfect for this top. I cut a long 3"strip and then followed the instructions to attatch it along the whole of the front of the top and the neckline. It worksd perfectly, the thickness makes the button band nice and stable and it's a really neat finish on the inside as well as the outside. The top is finished with a lettuce hem which is currently my favourite way of hemming jersey tops.

I  think these projects are my favourite kind: choosing inspiration from ready to wear and then trying to replicate it. It definitely helps to use a cheap fabric in case it all goes wrong but I've found that actually most things can be salvaged (to some extent!). Like my jersey shirts, I think that this will be a design that I make again in lots of different colours.