I have this pattern ever since Geogeous Fabrics reviewed it in PatternReview and on her blog. The velour fabric has been in my stash for about 6 years. It was bought for my daughter's renfest cape and I thought it was a pretty color so I got more at that time. When the stash contest started, I've decided to use both to make the cardigan.
Size
The pattern is very roomy so I used the large size even though my measurements falls in the XL size.
Pattern Adjustments
I think that my shoulders are a bit rounded so I adjusted the shoulder seams 5/8 inches and adjusted the sleeves accordingly. I also shortened the sleeves about 2 inches. After completion, I find the shoulder adjustment is not really needed but since it was already sewn, I left it alone. Normally, I would make a FBA but not for this pattern. I added nearly 2 inches to the front hem and tapered it to even on the side seams. This was the "just in case hem" but it was not needed and got cut off. I serged 3/8" seam instead of the regular 5/8" seam for the side seams. Everything else was 5/8".
Construction
To get the rich color of this fabric, I cut it with the nap up. It was very easy to put together and with a serger it went together quickly. That alone makes it a pattern to use again. :) The pattern called for one big button but the fabric does not want to behave when I overlapped it so I decided to use 4 buttons; 2 large and 2 medium. They were placed in alternating size down the front as shown by this picture. The overlapped front kept bunching up so a snap was sewn on at the hem to make it lay flat.
Here are a couple of shots of the cardigan. It is very comfortable to wear and nice enough to go out. Look at these kimono sleeves! It was windy that day so I had trouble keeping my hair from flying in my face. :)
