For the first time in ages I have actually sewn something from a pattern company. The cardigan pattern is from the April 2010 issue of Burda magazine. After learning about the Burda drama, I went on a download binge on the German site, fearing that they will soon disable that option for non-German users. To clarify, that is just me being paranoid, I don’t really know if they have any plans to actually do that.
Me being possibly paranoid (and trying to find new facial expressions for the camera) + a close up of the yoke made of pointenelle organic cotton jersey.
Since I sew a lot of cardigans I was curious to see how Burda would approach the construction of a classic v-neck cardigan. Instead of a straight long piece of ribbing this pattern calls for a shaped facing, but since I wanted to use ribbing I skipped their method as it doesn’t really work with super stretchy rib fabric. On the other hand, if you want the placket to be made in woven fabric I think the Burda solution is great. Another thing I skipped was stabilizing the armhole with interfacing tape. That is overkill in my opinion, since a serger on the highest feeder tension will keep the opening in check when attaching the sleeves. I also added pockets and a yoke to make the cardigan a little less basic. All in all I think it’s a great basic pattern, the shape is great, fitted but not super tight. The only dislike is the sleeve ease. Burda still insists on using ease in knit sleeves, which I don’t get that at all, and because of the ease there is some excess fabric at the sleeve cap, which bothers me a little bit.
