Keira Cardigan in Black
Lately, I was so busy sewing (and reading and knitting in order to muster some willingness towards the cold season) that I completely forgot to blog some of the makes we photographed a little while ago. One of these is another version of my KEIRA CARDIGAN, which I released a few weeks ago:
The KEIRA Cardigan pattern is a pay as you wish pattern – so it’s basically free unless you choose to pay for it. You can download it here and read more about it here.
Pattern & Adjustments:Â As mentioned above, I used one of my own patterns for this cardigan. This one is actually one of my test versions I made prior to releasing this pattern. I sewed it up pretty much over a year ago, as I was planning to release the pattern last winter. I made the version with the wide binding around the edges. I only tweaked the sleeves a bit after this one, as the fit was a bit too snug – still wearable though.
Fabric: This jumbo ribbed jersey, which I suspect is almost certainly 100% polyester, is really comfy and was a breeze to sew with. I bought it ages ago in a local fabric store when I still lived in Queen’s Park, London. It was £1.50/m, 60 inch wide. I bought 2 metres of it. The fabric has made an earlier appearance on the blog, as a Lady Skater/Ultimate Pencil Skirt Frankendress. A little black dress I made with a self-drafted sequinned cardigan which is the original KEIRA cardi I based the pattern on.
After wearing this cardigan for more than a year, I am surprised how well this fabric holds up. As you can see in the picture we took recently, there’s no trace of the innumerable times this garment has been in the wash. Pretty good for spending no more than £3 on it considering I managed to squeeze out two garments.
cardigan: handmade, KEIRA Cardigan by Audrey & Me Patterns
skirt: handmade, Ultimate Pencil Skirt by SEW OVER IT
belt: Primark
T-shirt: C&A
I’ve worn this KEIRA loads in the past year. All through last winter and spring and now again since it’s become really chilly again. Through summer I sometimes wore it instead of a light jacket. It goes with pretty much anything; mini skirts, fitted dresses, skinny jeans – it really is your wardrobe BFF! So far I’ve made four KEIRAs which are rotating pretty quickly as I love wearing them at the moment.
What’s your favourite (handmade?) garment this season?
Have a great week!
xx
Charlie
Happy sewing!
â¥
facebook/bloglovin/pinterest
twitter/instagram
Stay in touch!
I only had a metre of the lining fabric, so I cut out the skirt without the box pleats and also cut out the variation with a shorter hem. I kept skirt made from the georgette fabric long and since I sewed a narrow hem instead of the wider hand-stitched one, this added another 3cm to the length.
I love how this dress is playful and smart at the same time and can’t wait to wear it more often. It’s a bit too chic to wear at work, but it will be perfect for going out with friends.
A little while ago, I noticed that I often go very safe in terms of fabric choices. For some reason I never go with the bold prints and colours (with the exception of bright red, I guess) and usually grab all the plain colours, especially navy blue. Since the 
I made the knee-length variation of the Hepburn Skirt and chose to use a different for the front and back side panels. 
I finished all seams with my new overlocker – such a bliss! I actually now enjoy overlocking more than sewing. Is this normal?
(The seams acutally do not pucker at all, I have no idea why they look so awful in the picture above!)
At the moment I am also working on the fitted Hepburn dress variation which combines both skirt and dress patterns. I will make a knee-length version in a plain colour and at least one mini dress that is colour-blocked. I already picked up all the fabrics a couple of weeks ago and can’t wait to finish the dresses as soon as possible. The dress itself comes with many different variations, but (as you can see in the figure below) when combining both patterns the possibilities are endless.
Here a few close-ups of the neckline as it’s quite hard to see in the pictures due to the busy print:
The fabric was quite a bargain – I got it for £4/m at A1 Fabrics (if I remember correctly). It’s a peachskin polyester and the quality was surprsingly good. It’s quite heavy but drapes very well and is super soft and cool to the touch. The white parts of the fabric are not see-through at all and therefore, I could use the same fabric for lining the bodice. Soft inside out!
I’m a bit disappointed that the summer seems to be over so suddenly. Luckily, the Hepburn neckline works really well with a cardigan, so I will be able to wear the dress at work in the next couple of months.