HP Bo Ho Deluxe Lacy Wrap Cardigan

Thanks to the second job interview, I am getting more of my HP patterns done in a short period of time! I managed to get the bodice and collar of the HP cardigan cut and put together. I am using a very lightweight sweater knit bought on sale with Christmas money from the MIL, so this is one of her gifts to me. Again this is intended to be a very wearable muslin as I have yet to find just the right knit for this sweater, but I do need something for Friday. I like the shawl collar and the slight double breasted styling, although I am not a ribbon and lace person, so that will be modified!

Once again, I cut out the GG 16 and just went with it as is. So far this has worked for me. While the cardigan is not as double breasted on me as the model, I think I like it a little less overlapped anyway for my figure. But, the pattern still seems to have enough give, especially with only 3/8" s.a. that are allowed.

The pattern is intended for "cut and sew knits", sweatshirt fleece and stretchy rib knits. The one review I have seen of this pattern argued that this pattern is better designed for wovens due to the requirement to interface the collar facing. Apparently when she did it, the bodice was too stiff. In the making of my coat and now this cardigan, I read up on shawl collars. Threads magazine (Jan 2004) recommends that to maintain the look of the jacket, you fuse the front of the jacket and even put a second layer above the roll line. That would make a knit cardigan very heavy. As the fabric I chose has a boucle look to it, but is very lightweight, I decided to go ahead and interface anyway. I used a lightweight fusi knit for the facings and also for the area above the roll line of the bodice. I also reinforced the dart in the bodice with a second strip of interfacing to support the dart. I always fuse a scrap to the shoulders, but this time, I extended it to the back neck seamline as well as stay stitching. I have no illusions about this fabric, but I want it to look good for Friday! So far, my choices seem to be working. The fusi-knit is lightweight enough that it provides support but does not overpower the fabric or the lie of the collar.

So far, the instruction in this pattern are extremely well written. They follow a logical sequence and are easy to understand for me. I recommend reading them thoroughly before you sew as they have a unique treatment for the attaching the shawl collar facing. Trudy has you pin the facing on, RS together but not stitch along the edge. You only stitch the bottom to the hemline. After you flip, you attach the facing by binding the edges together. The binding shown on the collar actually encloses the raw edges. Included in the instructions are guidelines for making your own binding. For this version, I did not bind, but stitched them RS together and then across the hemline and then flipped. I also stitched in the ditch at the CB neck seam and also at the shoulder to anchor the neck facings. Because of the boucle effect, I may even top stitch the collar facing's interior edge as well. The stitches will be hidden in the texture of the fabric.

All I have left to do is to do the sleeves, the ties, the s.s. and the hem. I may use the diff feed on the serger and attempt a lettuce hem for the sleeves. After all, I do have another day ...maybe I can get the HP Dragon Cargo pants started as I try to figure out those cuffs on the coat!