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Ellie & Mac Chapman Cardigan - pattern review

As my sewing efforts have evolved, I have aimed to sew what I need to wear more and less to learn new things about sewing and garment construction (though it still sometimes happens). This has led me to sew things like underwear and cardigans which I used to always buy. I am a person who is cold 90% of the time, so I am a person who needs cardigans!

I have made a couple of M6996 this year and the Chapman cardigan from Ellie & Mac is somewhat similar but it doesn't have a fold down neck and it has pockets❣❣❣ Otherwise and for the construction, they are not that different.

I used an animal print rayon spandex from Olga's closet for the main fabric and the black is a lovely thick double brushed poly from LA Finch Fabrics.

Changes I made
As normal, I graded from a large bust to an XL waist/hip. I made the longer tunic length cardigan with long-sleeves for this first version. Of course, I also used the optional pockets.

The only thing I really changed was, I didn't use the fusible knit interfacing on my pockets shown in the directions. I didn't have any and since this was a quarantine project, I made due with what I had on hand and used a tricot knit lining in addition to my inner and outer pocket pieces. So I had 3 pocket pieces, 2 fabric and 1 tricot for each pocket.

Pattern Instructions and Construction

This is a very beginner-friendly pattern. The fit is forgiving since it's a cardigan and directions are pretty simple. If you are new to sewing or new to knits or have a new serger you want to play around with, this pattern is a good choice. 

The only part I think is slightly challenging to sew, is when you stitch on the band around the bottom, it is a little tricky to not stretch it over the pockets and also to keep the pocket layers all perfectly lined up. Since I had 3 layers instead of using fusible knit interfacing, this was probably extra difficult. Next time I am going to tack them in place with some wash away wonder tape.
Notice my pocket is a little weird here because I stretched the band over the pocket while attaching it.

Conclusions

This is a nice, straight-forward cardigan pattern and you could make the sleeveless version for a vest look. It fit as I expected it to based on the photos and the size chart. I will say that it was hard to tell what was the tunic version and what was the short version in the tester photos, they are all different heights and wasn't clear to me which person did which length beforehand . I did not anticipate my tunic one to be as long as it is, especially since I didn't adjust the pattern for being taller than the 5'6" it's drafted for and I think next time I will make the shorter length.

My face when I find a serger tail sticking out at the shoulder seam after wearing it for 6 hours. :)
It's funny, after I make something and look at the photos again, I notice a lot of new things and now I can tell which one is the tunic length or I think I can! LOL!

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