Pastel Rainbow Stripe Three-quarter Sleeve Cardigan with Trim

As mentioned in the last post, I recently received a very generous amount of fabric scraps left over from someone's clothing projects.  I had quickly sorted the larger pieces into the larger yardage storage when I first got them, and I decided the other day to sort all of my ribbing, more fully integrating the new stuff with what I already had.

This quickly showed me that I now had enough rib knits to make a complete, if pastel, rainbow.

Well, what could I make from this combination?  I did a bunch of burn tests and confirmed that all of them were, if not fully synthetic, then at least still blends (except for the yellow—it sparked and flared like a sparkler, and dripped, showing that it's 100% nylon.)  That meant I didn't necessarily want it in direct contact with my underarm area, so...cardigan?

I got out Simplicity 8951, for once planning to go with its as-given ¾-length sleeves, since they're the same length as the cardigan body, which meant I wouldn't have to make any length adjustments to the stripes.

I cut the strips for the shoulder area much wider than everything else, because I wasn't sure how much area would be needed to cut the tops of the shoulders and sleeves, and I cut everything else in 3½" strips.  I sewed everything together with roughly 3/8" seam allowances, using straight stitch for the assembly and serging the seam allowances.  I cut the pattern pieces from those assembled strips, figuring that would be a lot less hassle than trying to cut each strip also in the proper shape before assembly.

I did refer back to the post about making the patchwork cardigan, and that reminded me to put a drop of FrayCheck on each seam end right after it was cut, to hold it together long enough to get sewn into a construction seam.

I had originally planned to cut the neckband, cuffs, and waistband from the pale pink, just because I had so much of it left.  Once I realized that I would be most likely to wear the cardigan with my black dresses, I changed the plan to cutting those bits from black.

I was also not super happy with how the seam allowances between the stripes were laying, so I considered top stitching through them to hold everything down.  But what color?

I had done the strip assembly and initial body construction in beige, but I didn't really want that visible.  Black top stitching would make sense, but I felt it would look rather underwhelming against all of the other colors.

So...what about adding black trims...? And a different one at every seam.

Sure, why not. 

After that, black buttons were only logical.

I didn't take a lot of care to make sure the trims were applied perfectly aligned with the seams.

I don't expect that to be immediately obvious while this is being worn, and, while I did go back and pick out the stitches and reposition a few sections, I wasn't in the mood to be too exacting overall.

The laces got zigzagged, and the twill tape and middy braid got straight stitches.

 

I did gently stretch the knits as I sewed on the trims, but not enough to distort things.  Some parts are a little snug when worn (especially the twill tape where the peach meets the yellow), but not enough to be intolerable.  (I hope.)

I applied the cuffs as directed, with exposed seam allowances (serged, of course), but did the waistband and neckband with the seam allowances encased, so there's some wiggly stitching in the ditch visible in spots, but, again, only if you're looking closely.  Probably.

 

I did have to piece the neckband and waistband, so they both have a center back seam, which I forgot to photograph.  I also forgot to photograph the thin black ribbon bits I used to stabilize the shoulder seams, as well as completely forgetting to photograph the black grosgrain I used to finish and stabilize the front openings.

 

I would rather have used wide twill tape, like I did for the patchwork cardigan and the apple cardigans, or even same petersham, but I was committed to using something black, so grosgrain it was.  It does make the button areas very sturdy.

And then I even forgot to take a normal angle view picture of the back, but I did take this

 

And also this, for a slightly clearer view of the different trims used.

I do think this cardigan turned out very cute, and I'm happy with all of the improv decisions I made with it, but I feel like the design would be really nice as something fully knit, maybe even with every stripe in a completely different texture, and not just various ribbing sizes, and of course with the border stripes also being knit to eliminate the lack of stretch the trims have.  But!  I don't knit, so I release the idea to the universe.