Pattern Testing // Itch to Stich Lisbon Cardigan

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When I was younger, my vision of the ideal preppy-chic outfit was a cardigan thrown casually over a tank top and skirt, a la Cher in Clueless or Britney Spears (when parents still approved of her). In fact, the cardigan and jeans look is still my go-to outfit when I don’t want to think about what to wear but need to look put together, like on Casual Fridays for example. Naturally, a me-made cardigan has been on my to-make list for simply ages and up till recently, I thought it would be a Seamwork Oslo Cardigan that would eventually enter my wardrobe rotation… until Kennis put out a tester call for her brand new pattern, the Lisbon Cardigan that is.

I’ve tested for Kennis of Itch to Stitch several times now, and each time is always a great experience. She expects faster turn around times than other testers (usually a week from the time the tester pattern is sent till the photographs of the finished product and comments are due), but is always sure to give you ample notice of the necessary deadlines and is always on standby to answer any fit questions you may have during the process. This round, I was working on a very tight timeline given my trip to Yogyakarta over the May Day weekend – but when I saw her initial test photos for the Lisbon cardigan I couldn’t say no!

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The Lisbon Cardigan is a classic round-neck cardigan pattern that comes in cropped or regular length and 3/4 or full length sleeves. The neckline, hem and sleeves are finished with hem bands / cuffs and stable knits with a minimum of 50% stretch are recommend for this pattern.

The version I made was the regular length with full length sleeves, made in a stable sweater knit with about 50% stretch which I bought from a favourite local online knit shop of mine – SewManyKnits. It’s a wonderful double sided knit with grey and black stripes on one side and solid black on the other. After doing some research into ready to wear options herehere and here, I decided to go with the stripes for the main body and black for the cuffs – I think it’s a nice contrast and classy enough for both work and casual wear, don’t you?

This make was completely constructed on my serger (my new beloved Juki which I have yet to blog about!) except for the buttonholes (by machine) and  the buttons and tails of the serged placket (both of which were sewn by hand). All in, it was such a quick make – 4 hours in all from the cutting to the sewing on of the buttons! Putting together the pdf pattern was also a breeze as Kennis (as is her practice) has included a layered option which allows you to select your size prior to printing.

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Whilst I love the option of having a fitted cardigan, my preference is to leave all my cardigan unbuttoned – the only practical choice when living in a tropical country. I’ve had a sneaky peek at several of the other testers’ makes, however, and am pleased to report that almost all of them had a perfect fit right out of the envelope! There was some feedback in the tester group about needing to shorten the length of the 3/4 sleeves, but I believe that has been fixed in the final version of the pattern. If you happen to have regular problems with pattern sleeve lengths, I would recommend that you check the sleeve length before attaching the cuffs.

If you’ve been looking for a cardigan pattern of this style (or any fitted cardigan pattern at all really), I would highly highly recommend the Lisbon cardigan. I’m planning to make several more iterations of it myself, possibly in the cropped length with a V-neck and another in a boyfriend cardigan length – after all, when one finds a TNT pattern, one must exploit it for all it’s worth, right? P.S. Kennis will be offering a 20% discount on the Lisbon cardigan pattern for the first week, so make sure you snap it up soon while it’s still on offer!

Disclaimer: I was provided this pattern free of charge to assist in the testing process. My opinions above however (as always) are completely my own. I am also part of an affiliate program run by Itch to Stitch for any purchases made by clicking through from my site. 

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