A great cardigan pattern

I really liked the Marlo sweater pattern when I first saw it as it looked like it would go with lots of outfits. I decided on a patterned fabric and used the Jane French Terry (which is from my shop Bornella Fabrics) that has 20% stretch. The pattern gives options for 20% and 40% stretch which I haven’t seen before – it means that you can make the whole garment out of one fabric, rather than using a different cuffing or ribbing fabric.

Down to construction then, I cut a straight size 8 based on my measurements and I’m happy with the sizing – it’s boxy and oversized but doesn’t swamp me. The fabric requirements on the pattern say 1.8m are required but I think I managed to cut it out of approx 1.25m (not following the lay plan). I didn’t attempt to pattern match anything.

I find True Bias’ instructions to be detailed and straightforward. Definitely great if you’re new to sewing or sewing with stretch. In fact the pattern gives you two options for sewing the neckband, based on your skill level: 1) an easy version and 2) an intermediate version, which I did. From the outside of the garment there is minimal difference between the two. Just a line of visible stitching on the easy version. However the finish on the inside of the intermediate version is much neater so it just comes down to preference and confidence.

The neckband is definitely the trickiest part of the make. Two things went a little wobbly for me. Firstly, my neckband ended up a little short when I attached it so I had to do some creative ‘recovery’ – no unpicking required and it worked out fine. My other wobble was stitching in the ditch which I’m terrible at even on a good day. In hindsight I should have made my stitch length longer and I will for next time. So both my issues with the neckband were caused by me and not the pattern.

Overall I’d really rate this pattern and can see me getting a lot of wear out of it.

Happy sewing,

Tanya xx

PS. if you want to read a more detailed review, you can find it here.