A Tale of Two Driftless’

Friends, it is cardigan time! I was going to say something about the weather being oddly hot for the last few weeks, but it’s now July and we’re finally having a few rainy days below 25C. This tells you something about both the effects of climate change in these parts, but also my sense of timing. It is probably the move, but I feel more than ever before that I missed like a good four months of this year.

Anyway cardigans! I made them for that in-between weather where it was to warm to bust out the woolly knitwear, but cold enough for some light layers. The type of weather that we inevitably are going to getting with every change of the season. These were some of the last pictures I took at my old apartment. I debated about maybe taking new ones now that I’ve been in my new place for a while and the weather has caught up with me, but for nostalgia’s sake lets have a last look at these old-in-dire-need-of-a-layer-of-paint walls. To shake things up around here and confuse everyone these were not knitted but sewn, with knitted fabric. Are you still with me?

Ahum yes, the pattern for both of these cardigan is Driftless by Grainline Studio. You might remember that a while back I already made a cardigan from this pattern. I love that cardigan and it is one of my most worn home sewn things. With the success of the Summer of Basics in mind I was really inspired to built on the work I did there and make some more wardrobe workhorses. Since I got so much wear out of my first Driftless, even though the colour is not the most basic out there, I figured my wardrobe could use some in more matchable colours as well.

So I got to work. I started with the charcoal knit and made the striped cardigan a week after. I prefer lightweight knitted fabric for cardigans such as these over tricot fabric but that is just a personal preference. The specifics for both of these are exactly the same as my first green Driftless cardigan; with a straight hem band, and added button band. I made the same size as my first Driftless, I could have gone down a size but then I would’ve had to retrace the pattern and because the pattern already has so much ease I didn’t bother with that.

The pattern is super straightforward and progress on this was super fast. I made the striped cardigan in a day, which is a rarity for me. I always get surprised and a bit of kick how fast sewing with stretch fabrics is in general but this pattern really is a star even in that league. I definitely recommend it if you are in need of a quick pick me up sewing project! It also has massive, super satisfactory pockets and that alone makes it a recommendable pattern.

I didn’t hand sew the button band, just serged them on there the way I did all of the finishing on these cardigans.  I did the same for my first driftless and it hasn’t bothered me there so I’m calling it good enough for me. I don’t know, but for me hand sewing on a project like this is not really worth the effort, might be different for you though so judge for yourself and do as you see fit when you sew them.

I’m super excited to have these makes added to my wardrobe! They are definitely more cake than frosting in terms of sewing, and probably not the most exciting makes to make it to the blog, but they expand my handmade wardrobe range and have been worn a lot. It is such a joy to see the amount of handmade items in my wardrobe and wearing rotation expand. I really feel that my new way of approaching sewing in the past year has changed my sewing for the better and I’m excited to see where it will take me in the future!