I finally got around to making Hotpatterns, Riveria Boulevard Cardigan-Jacket (HP 1031). I ran into a few problems, but I love the material so much, and the cut is so good, that I would really like to wear it anyway. Unfortunately, this was the perfect jacket for late Summer, not proper Autumn. It's just too cold and wet now. I'll have to wait until Spring. It would look nice with a lemon yellow t-shirt, I think.
Before sewing this pattern, I looked around to see what other people had already done with it, and how it worked out for them. Not many people have sewn this pattern it seems, so I'll go into some detail, just in case there is anyone looking for a thorough review.
As for the sewing. It wasn't difficult so much as tedious. I don't have a serger and the pattern has 3/8" seams. That meant I had to sew each seam three times! Once to get the 3/8" seam. Once to finish the edge with over-locking (my machine gives me a 1/8" seam allowance when I over-lock). And once to cover-stitch. I was sewing on stretch stitch settings and ended up going through more than 200 meters of thread! I had to finish the final cover-stitching in a slightly different thread colour because I couldn't find any more of my original thread which I had bought 50 miles away. Aargh!
The instructions do include some basic diagrams. They don't go into a lot of detail, though. A more detailed picture of how to attach the yoke to the body would have been a big help for a novice like me.
My hints and tips would be: 1) Do the topstitching. It makes all the difference to final appearance of the jacket. 2) When choosing fabric, choose something of which your machine can handle a four-fold thickness. 3) Don't bother with interfacing unless you choose the lightest jersey. This is a soft, slouchy sort of piece and increasing the thickness will make attaching the yoke that much harder. 4) Choose a solid fabric. There is plenty of interest in the pattern itself, and you won't have the headache of getting the pattern matched at all these different seams.
Now that I have made it once, I am tempted to make it again in French terry for the Summer. I have already done the hard part of figuring out the instructions, and now I know to buy three spools of thread! Plus, I now have the cut-out, traced-out pattern on hand. Then again, my machine is pretty basic, and I had real trouble sewing the collar, yoke and body together. I had four layers of fabric (I did not use any interfacing) and my machine barely made it. The roller foot I had was not much help, even with the top stitching.
