Hey friends

The Carlsbad Cardigan is the fourth pattern in Kennis Wong’s book SEW BEAUTIFUL. The book has 8 simple and elegant patterns along with beginner friendly instructions and tips on how to make stylish handmade clothing for yourself.

The beauty and simplicity of these patterns appeal to me and my everyday life. These are patterns that are thoughtfully designed and along with the fabrics that I’ve picked, these are garments that I choose to wear fondly because they make me feel beautiful. Wearing them reminds me of how much joy sewing these clothes has brought me. I have not always been mindful while buying clothes, fabrics or even making garments. And these days, I am learning how to do that and making simple wearable garments from fabrics that I have impulsively purchased in the past or sometimes been gifted with, brings me profound joy. That is how the Carlsbad Cardigan came to be. I had this fuzzy, soft and open weaved sweater knit that I got a long time ago simply because of how amazingly soft it feels to touch. It’s almost too delicate to sew with, so choosing this pattern with minimal seams and enough leeway for the fabric to retain its delicate nature felt right.

The Carlsbad is one of those patterns that you have to make to truly appreciate the beauty in its design and construction. It only has three pattern pieces – the front, back and sleeves (sleeve bands if you choose to make the vest version). The front and back necklines are built into the bodice pieces, so with some ingenious construction, it all comes together rather neatly. The front of the Cardigan has a soft waterfall drape and the corners all have mitered hems, another beautiful design feature in this pattern.

There’s really not much else to say about the pattern. It is simple, dreamy and beautiful and I love it. Because of the general ease in the design, you pick a size based on your bust measurement and that’s it. The length of the cardigan is completely a matter of preference here whether you choose to shorten it, lengthen it to duster length or keep it as it is like I have. I usually shorten sleeves for most patterns but for this cardigan, I chose to leave the length as is and roll them up twice so the pretty wrong side would show.

My makes and thoughts from the first three patterns in the book are here, here and here if you want to take a look. Kennis Wong’s book SEW BEAUTIFUL: Make Stylish Handmade Clothing With Simple Stitch-And-Wear Patterns is available in both printed soft-cover version as well as a digital Kindle version for pre-order on Amazon and many other retail stores.

Thank you for stopping by!

Happy Sewing!