Who doesn’t like cardigans? I wish I could knit and make all the dreamy cozy cardigans available to humans who know how to knit, but as I don’t I am settling for the ones I can sew. Thankfully, Helen designed the Blackwood cardigan to make a life for someone like me easier so I can still make my little heart happy and make what I imagine in my head a reality.
Blackwood Cardigan by Helen’s Closet comes in two variations but you can always play beyond limits and make it longer, shorter, wider, prettier, unique. I made two very different cardigans from the same pattern and in the same type of fabric. One is long, dark, shielding. The other is short, bright, entertaining.
I love both black and colour at the same time. Black feels safe and powerful in its own way. I wanted to sew a long cardigan for a while and I finally made one. I went to a local store and got 2 meters of black Ponte di Roma fabric. I came home, prewashed it, cut it, sewed it, and voila!
I cut it out in a size M. I sized up from previous versions (I made my first two in lighter stretchier fabrics so it was fine to cut size S for them) and that was a good decision. I wanted a somewhat fitted but at the same time loose cardigan. Not sure if I pooled it off but I like it. I made the front band double the width, lengthened the whole thing by as far as I could to use up all the fabric I had, and shortened the sleeves by 3 or 4 cm as they are extra long, at least for my arms. I added pockets from version A, because – pockets!
Then I instantly felt I needed some colour on me, asap. So I went back to the cutting table and cut out a short version (variation A) in yellow Ponte di Roma fabric. With this version, I again cut the front band double the width, shortened the sleeves by 2 cm, and cut the sides of front and back straight (not curved as in the pattern). I wanted to see if this would give a looser (oversized?) feel. I have another precious fabric I want to sew into a cardigan and I was testing this option for it. If I decide I don’t like it I can easily take it in.
I like this shade of yellow. It really is a happy colour. I actually bought these two fabrics on the same day in the same shop with the idea to make the same pattern from them. Funny how different pattern variations and colours give a different feel to the whole outfit.
For those interested, you can see my first two versions here and here.
Thank you for reading,
Ana