Something Old, Something New

There are a few items in my wardrobe that were once loved but over time have been worn less and less because they no longer seem fashionable.  Both the skirt and blouse in this photo fall into this category.  The blouse is Sewaholic Granville made in op shop chiffon and the skirt is Vogue 1247 made in op shop wool which I have fully lined.  I really love the workmanship that went into both items and the fit, and despite their origins, the fabrics ooze quality.  I haven't worn them much at all in recent winters because I really am not sure how to style them to look current.  I am trying to be mindful of my consumption so if I can reinvent my wardrobe instead of replace it, I am all for it.  So I was really thrilled to discover that my latest cardigan ties the two items together quite nicely.

I bought the fabric from Fabric Vision at their prewinter sale.  It is a lovely soft wool jersey knit and even on sale, wasn't a bargain buy so I was very careful to choose the right pattern to make it up in.  Now that I have perfected it, I knew my self drafted cardigan would make up really nicely in this knit and because I had bought 2m, I also knew I would have enough fabric for a full length version.

The cardigan was a quick make with most of the construction on the overlocker.  I added some clear elastic to the shoulder seams to avoid the shoulders stretching out and also added some stretch iron on interfacing to the front bands because I planned to make buttonholes.  In the end I decided against the buttons because I would never wear it done up and finding the right colour and size was proving problematic.  To finish it off I added patch pockets which I simply turned and topstitched.

The cardigan is lovely and cozy for work and looks equally good teamed with my new wool Ginger Jeans and Tessuti Monroe Turtleneck.