Jalie 2919 in Italian Wool Sweater Knit

Just as the song states, "oh, the weather outside is frightful" that has been the case here in Missouri.   I just need to change the words from snow to rain, cold, gloomy and damp.  With the cold and gloomy in mind, I decided it was time to make something out of sweater knit.  I went with this Mood Fabrics' Italian Wool Flamestitch sweater knit  in the blue colorway but do note if blue is not a color for you it does come in three other colors.  This sweater knit is just the softest and so cozy, perfect for yucky weather.  Since this fabric arrived, I just kept touching it and admiring how soft it is.  Plus I am amazed it is 100%wool, there is no scratchiness at all.  If the flame stitch isn't for you,  there are so many other Mood Fabrics' sweater knits available.

    I wanted a cardigan for this soft sweater knit and went with Jalie 2919, a pattern I have made a couple times before but it has been a few years.  I was drawn to this pattern because of the pleats that run from the shoulder to the waist.  This pleating helped give some shape to the garment, which I felt was needed with a thicker sweater knit.  One thing to note with this sweater knit, there is no repeat of the pattern from selvage to selvage, which was a bit surprising to me.  In fact, Meredith came into my sewing room and wanted to know what I was staring at.  I said the fabric, where is the repeat and am I missing it?  No, I was not.  So the two sides of the collar, are similar blues but not the same repeat.  Keep this in mind when ordering the fabric if you want to have the fronts and sleeves to  match each other.  I really wasn't that concerned about it, the fabric is busy and fun and it does take some concentrating to see is isn't' the same.

After laying out all the pattern pieces I did realize I was a bit short on fabric, just a couple of  inches.  My solution was to eliminate the hem allowance on the sleeves.  I finished the sleeves with a small strip of black ponte binding, a great solution considering the thickness of the sweater knit.

 After cutting out the pattern, I took special care in handling the sweater pieces.  I was a bit fearful that the sweater knit would unravel especially with this looser weave.  I did use my serger for all the construction and added interfacing at the shoulder seams to prevent stretching.

    When planning this cardigan, I really thought I would leave it open but I found I liked it much better with a belt.  After taking this photos, I changed into a black shirt, jeans and this cardigan and headed to a movie.  I do know this cardigan will be well loved this winter, keeping me cozy and warm.

    On my sewing table is another Mood Fabrics' sweater knit in partial construction and I am so excited to have this type of fabric is work with.

My sweater knit did start to unravel in one spot.  I threaded a needle with black thread and did a bit of hand stitching to secure the sweater knit.