Just over a year ago, I made a cardigan with Simplicity 8951. I wasn't happy with it.
The first time I made Simplicity 8951, I deviated quite a bit from the instructions, and it turned out fun! But when I made the same deviations the second time, the fabric was just so much thicker that it didn't work as well.
That didn't, unfortunately (but not unexpectedly) stop me from trying to make it again with the same deviations, and, this time, from a thicker fabric. And with the peter pan collar option!
It...went badly
(spoiler: it got better)
If you've seen many of my shirt projects this year, you know I'm extremely averse to exposed seam allowances on front bands. This pattern wants the front band folded in half and sewn to the edge of the front opening, then the seam allowance is either serged then top stitched or top stitched then the excess trimmed. I am not doing that.
However, the approach I use for front bands on woven shirts does not work well with thick knits. I tried it anyway.
If I had a rib knit like the pattern wants, it may have gone better, since ribbing is not as thick and spongy as this vaguely french terry knit.
But I absolutely did not want a contrast, so I used self fabric for the waist, cuffs, and those front bands. It worked nicely for the waist and cuffs. It did not, as I have mentioned, work for the front bands at all. And, yes, I did interface them. It did not stabilize the bands. It only made them thicker.
The white serger thread matches, at least!
The collar is supposed to be made from the same fabric as the body of the garment, but I wanted to potentially make things more difficult and squeeze the upper collar out of the white faux fur I picked up from the craft thrift store free bins (I've been doing well using the things I got from the free bins that day.) Since I wanted to avoid making everything too thick, I used some of the crinkle nylon for the under collar.
I stabilized the shoulders with strips of the crinkle nylon, pressed, with the folded edge near the stitching and the raw edge serged to the seam allowance.
I gritted my teeth and just finished the collar seam allowance with serging, then top stitched through all layers. I had considered adding a collar stand, but, even though I hadn't dealt with the front bands at that point, I was starting to sense that this project...didn't need further complications.
And then it was done and I was not at all happy. As I've mentioned.
I turned things over in my mind as I was falling asleep--it would be annoying work, but I needed to replace those front bands. The first consideration was a nice, sturdy, but not too thick, woven. I could apply it just like on a button up shirt! But it would have to be contrast, since I didn't think I had any wovens in a matching gray; I was right, I didn't--close, but not perfect. I did have some light gray textured stripe--with Lurex!--that I figured could work as a seemingly intentional contrast.
But then...what if...no band at all? Replaced with a zipper?
I knew I had some 14" 'natural' nylon coil separating zippers, and I was pretty sure the front opening was right around 14"
The color match would not be optimal, but I was so, as I've mentioned, unhappy with the way the front band looked that I decided to go with it anyway.
And I do believe it all worked out!
And then I liked it so much that I decided to Add More!
As much as I like the transparent pearlescent buttons I used the first time, I wanted something different for this approach. I rummaged around and found these faux horn buttons, with a mix of transparent, white, and ivory. In theory, that helps make the zipper color coordinate, but you have to get close and squint to see it. I know it's there.
When I removed the original bands, the buttonhole openings meant I couldn't retain the entire width of the front. I trimmed through the buttonholes on that side, and then the same amount (eyeballed) on the other side.
I did have to stretch the fronts a bit to fit the zipper, but not a lot, and better that than fiddling with adding new end stops and removing less than a centimeter of zipper teeth.
Is it perfect? Pfft, no.
But it does make me happy now!
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