So many people sent messages when I entitled a blog post “selfish sewing”, protesting that sewing for myself rather than for stock wasn’t selfish in the slightest… so I’m going to call this one “self-care sewing”.
I’m going to a local business seminar, and I’ve been stressing out about it. (Nothing to do with the seminar itself, everything to do with having been ill for a few days on top of my usual fibromyalgia/endometriosis/colitis combination.) I knew that if I spent today worrying about it I’d end up making myself too ill to go, so I needed a project completely unrelated to work, to take my mind off it.
Enter this cardigan which, contrary to appearances, is actually a 1950s jacket!
The pattern is Simplicity 1319, a re-issue of an original 1950s design. This is actually the long version, view A, although it only sits an inch or two below my waist. I wilfully ignored all of the recommended fabrics and pulled out this organic cotton jersey from my stash. It’s two layers knitted together – the little white spots are a single stitch pulled through from the striped layer. Because I knew that the facings would show, I decided to reverse the fabric to make the most of the two different sides.
I decided to fix the folded-back front facings in place with two vintage buttons, also from the mountainous stash. The photo is actually a bit misleading – the hem of the facings doesn’t bag like that when there’s actually a person inside the cardigan! If I’d followed the instructions and lined the jacket, the facings would have formed a sort of a pocket – not secure enough to put things in, but a place to rest my hands. I may yet go back and cheat that with a bit of topstitching… I’ll see how it goes.
I think this cardigan will be perfect to wear in this sort of peculiar in-between weather, where it isn’t warm enough for a jacket, but it might turn out to be a bit breezy in the shade. It also feels a bit smarter than some of my knitted cardigans, making it an excellent piece of “smart-casual” wear. I’m going to wear it to the seminar… hopefully I’ll learn something useful while I’m there!