wrap cardigan

I have a this charcoal-colored sweater knit (not super tight or loose, a bit see through, two-way stretch) that I bought recently. I was originally thinking to make a dress, but once I saw this wrap cardigan tutorial from Megan Nielsen on my Pinterest board, it clicked.

Even for a super beginner like myself, it was really easy and fast! It’s not quite a “free pattern”, but Megan provides all measurements (it’s a one-size tutorial). Using her instructions, I drew out my own pattern; essentially some rectangles with a few curves for the armholes and neckline. I just bought a curved ruler recently, so it was really simple to get nice lines on my pattern.

Maybe my cutting was off, but my front pieces were a tad longer than my back piece.

Constructing it took me a minute to wrap my head around, especially once I sewed the shoulder and side seams together. Figuring out how to get the collar from this massive rectangle of fabric took a few attempts at pinning, but then once I got it, it seemed really obvious.

The long, drapey cardigan is perfect for wearing over my recently finished Alder shirt dress. It feels as cozy as it looks, and the shape of it definitely doesn’t say “maternity” so I can continue wearing it throughout Belgium’s many seasons of chilly weather.

This knit fabric is so forgiving that the pattern fits me just fine with no adjustments, and looks fine without any finished seams (and I’m too lazy to finish them if I really don’t have to). After spending a day cutting out the fabric for a bunch of projects at once, I was able to sew this up in just about an hour on a weeknight. The sleeves could be a little looser and the shoulders a bit less square (you can see they have a tendency to stick up in the pictures above), but any small flaws I notice are hidden by the overall look of the cardigan.

Here you can see how the front and back pieces didn’t quite match up to each other. All it takes it two seconds with a rotary cutter to taper that edge, and it’ll be good to go (even though, the two sides match perfectly and it doesn’t stick out that it’s an error).

Overall, I’m so pleased with how this turned out! It’s so satisfying to spend so little time on something I know I will wear a lot. It’s an old tutorial, but I highly recommend it for anybody who’s looking for something similar!