A Blackwood Maxi
Winter is here but there are times when it’s so mild that dressing day to day can be quite tricky. This year I am hoping to make some appropriate seasonal garments, as I always seem to make them a season too late. To kick start this year’s autumn/winter sewing I’ll be trying my hand at another sewer’s favourite: the Blackwood Cardigan.
Recently I got the opportunity to make Helen’s Closet Blackwood cardigan as I came down with a nasty cold. Not bad enough to call it flu but bad enough that my coworkers had all mentioned how deathly ill I looked when I went to work.
I used to make cardigans when I first started sewing garments because they were, in comparison to other garments, fairly easy to construct with little or no technical knowledge needed. So when I first saw this pattern it wasn’t love at first sight for me, despite many sewers raving about the Blackwood being the ultimate layering piece that everyone needed in their wardrobe.
I love a good layering piece, my friends would crown me queen of layers, but it wasn’t until I saw Suzanna Forsythe’s make, where she had turned this average length cardigan to a buttoned maxi cardigan, that I fell in love with the project. From that moment I knew I wanted to make a maxi version.
The fabric that I used was Fabric Galore’s Grey Marl Viscose Jersey, bought earlier this year when we were still in the midst of much snow. This is a lovely soft single jersey with a fantastic drape. I bought 3.5m because I wasn’t sure what would be sufficient for the length that I wanted to extend the cardigan to. When purchasing fabric for a new project I always err on the side of caution and most of the time I am left with a good amount which then goes towards another project. In this case I was really happy that I had bought the extra material as I almost forgot to add that extra length to my front band.
As it was designed with layering in mind, it has minimal excess fabric in the front and a close fit around the neck and shoulders. Its fitted shape and extra long sleeves make it ideal for wearing under jackets but also stylish over tops and dresses. The pattern comes in 2 lengths; one that ends at the hips and the other that extends down to mid-thigh and includes patch pockets at hand level. The Blackwood is also intended to be worn open and isn’t designed to close at the front.
I made mine in the small size and the only alteration was the added extra length of the garment. From past experience of having full length coats I knew I didn’t want my cardigan to reach the floor; who would want to drag that lovely and soft jersey through London’s dirt?! So I decided to add on 20 inches just to make it a nice easy number. I would like to say that I am 5’5.5 and those 20 inches was the perfect add on for me as it fell to just being an inch off the ground with no shoes on. The sleeves finished a little bit longer than I thought they would but this just made it a little bit more cosy and great to pull down over my hands.
I found the instructions well illustrated and exceptionally clear, with no surprises from them. However, there were other surprises for me during this make as I had so much trouble with getting my machine to do zig-zag stitch that I sewed it up with a straight stitch and did a lot of overlocking. I know that I could have just overlocked all my seams but due to the 4-way stretch, I was worried that the fabric was going to misalign if I didn’t stitch it first.
I didn’t do any topstitching as my machine was being so temperamental and I didn’t want to ruin the finish. If it was better behaved I would have loved to have topstitched my front band to see what it could have looked like.
Overall it was a satisfyingly quick and easy make. This pattern is most definitely back on my make list. There’s even a possibility of making a shorter version but with a few changes, including overlocking thread to match my fabric better — you can really see the black on that pale grey fabric! Perhaps I’ll try a thicker fabric, something that won’t be pulled out of shape too easily.
If a maxi cardigan isn’t your style, and you still need some persuasion to make this cardigan, then check out Helen’s round up of testers who have all done a wonderful job. She has also done a complete sew-along over on her blog if you want or need any additional guidance.
