En Route Julia Cardigan

After I finished my first Julia Cardigan, I immediately wanted to make another one. This time, I used a print instead of a solid: En Route Knit in Gravel by Frances Newcombe for Art Gallery Fabrics. All in all, I’m quite pleased with it. It did roll some, but the print is forgiving, so I practiced finding the grain in knit fabric without stressing out about it. The fabric is soft and cozy, perfect for this cocoon-style cardigan.

For this version, I played around with the sleeves. Specifically, I shortened them by a couple inches, graded down a size at the wrist, and actually used the cuffs this time. Yay for not having to use a double needle at all! I like the end result better than my previous version, but I might continue to tweak them in the next version. There will definitely be a next version!

Since I thought sewing the Julia Cardigan took too long last time, I experimented with ways to speed up the process (without investing in a serger). I hate slowing down to change feet, so instead of following the instructions step by step, I sewed all the seams that I could with the walking foot one after the other, then switched to the mock overlock foot to finish them, then switched back to the walking foot, etc. This was the first time I had used my walking foot when sewing with knits, and I liked it. I also finished the seams together and pressed to one side, instead of pressing open like the instructions called for. I started cutting out on Sunday and finished on Thursday, so I feel like I improved my time.

The only trouble I had with this cardigan was when I sewed together the doubled over collar. It was twisted and I had to unpick all of it. That’s what I get for sewing late at night! Unpicking knits is incredibly tedious and takes much longer than unpicking quilting cotton. It was worth it though, because I really like this cardigan and will most likely get lots of wear out of it.