This is me. I’m trying to model this cardigan. This is my “I have attitude and I don’t care pose.” I was feeling more than a little bit self-conscious, and it shows in the pics that I ended up with. I don’t know why I was feeling especially awkward when I actually got quite a few compliments the first day I wore this outfit.
I’ve always liked lace, though it isn’t always easy to find lace fabric for a decent price. I found this burgundy-colored piece a few months ago in the clearance room of an extremely large fabric store in Portland and bought it with a plan to make this cardigan/jacket thing with ruffles. I used Butterick 5714 despite what the garments looked like on the pattern envelope and line drawings. I wanted the see-throughness of the lace to remain, so I didn’t line it. Unfortunately, I didn’t take entirely into account that I would have to finish the seams where the ruffle attaches in some manner. I ended up turning the seam allowance to the inside and topstitching it under the ruffle. I’m absolutely certain that isn’t how it is supposed to be done, and that there should have been some sort of bias binding or something to encase the seam allowance. The way I did it worked well enough for my wearing purposes, but it definitely lacks professionalism. The sides, shoulders, and sleeve seams I did as french seams so they look ok.
Here’s some more awkward poses of me in my jacket. (Please look at the cardigan and not at me.)
Trying to be cute, but not quite pulling it off
Facial expression says “up to no good”
Unsure of what to do with the hands
At last, my best side
Overall, I like how this turned out. I feel very girly with the ruffles and lace. It doesn’t exactly breathe, being made of polyester, but it does have an open weave, so it isn’t too hot. I’m pretty sure that most style “experts” would tell me there’s too much bulk in this outfit, and I will agree that it isn’t “slimming”, but sometimes I just don’t feel the need to camouflage the curves. I’m not sure about the dress I was wearing it over. Next time I might just wear it over a black tank/black straight skirt because the sheer handkerchief hem of the dress seems to be competing with the ruffles of the cardigan.
Just for laughs, here’s the picture from the pattern envelope:
Leave a Reply