Montag, 18. Mai 2020

Two Patchwork Cardigans

Recently, I bought an overlocker. It was threaded in four colors (blue, gree, red, yellow). Of course I tried it out with these threads because I was too lazy to change them (it's probably less complicated then it looks in the manual, but still ... ). I really liked the color effect on my grey test piece, so I thought seams like that might make a nice feature on the outside of a garment.
That thought matured quite some time in my head, and this weekend I thought I'd give it a try and started to construct a cardigan. I used different grey(ish) jersey fabrics - leftovers and recycled old t-shirts. I didn't use a pattern but eyeballed the pieces when cutting and assembling them (with my measurements in the back of my head).
Unexpectedly, it actually worked and I had a finished jacket on Saturday evening. The piece fits me well - even though the seams are not what you'd call neat and tidy ;-)




So, I decided to make a second one on Sunday - using two old XL sized t-shirts - also in the "seams on the outside"-look.  Unfortunately, the two of the thread bobbins were empty, so I had to learn how to thread the machine (and it wasn't that difficult - except for the fine motor skills that you need to thread the needles :)


This second one (in light green and teal) is less successful in terms of fitting, but it's still basically a wearable jacket.

There are several things that I learned when making these two jackets:

  • threading an overlocker is easier than it first seems
  • when using an overlocker I use up much more thread than I ever expected
  • thread tension is important
  • two XL t-shirts (especially if they are old and a bit distorted) are not quite enough to make a jacket for me
  • when cutting pieces, better err on the generous side :)

1 Kommentar:

  1. I like your sweaters. There is a designer here in Berkeley, who has been using this technique for over 25 years. I have a vest she made from fleece. She may be mostly retired by now but her name is Karen Hauptli and you might want to check out her things.

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