Colleen Cardigan – Made for Mermaids
Colleen is the latest release from Made for Mermaids and part of their lounge and lace collection.
It’s a cozy slouchy-style cardi, super easy and quick to make, and oh-so-COZY!
The pattern comes with a couple of options:
- straight or colorblocked;
- 3/4 or long sleeves;
- regular or shawl collar;
- optional pockets.
One important thing to note about this one is that there is no grading it. You’ll just have to go by your widest measurement.
On the M4M size chart, I’m Blue for bust and waist and Yellow for hips so I just made a straight size Yellow.
This probably means that the cardi will hang and slouch a bit differently on different bodies, but that shouldn’t be a worry at all because it looks amazing all across the board from what I’ve seen 🙂
Something else that will influence the look of the cardigan is fabric choice. I used 3 different fabric weights for mine, so let’s take a look at how each of them behaved 😉
1 – Velvet, lightweight
First off… I’M NEVER TAKING THIS OFF MY BODY!
Oh my goodness, this is so so soooo soft. It feels like baby cuddles!
This is size yellow, shawl collar and long sleeves.
Because the fabric is very drapey and stretchy this cardi is longer and slouchier than the other 2.
I really like the shawl collar with this fabric, it makes it just that little bit extra cozy.
I really really love this one and can see myself grabbing it for a whole lot of different occasions. It’s perfect for the beggining of fall or those chilly spring days. But most of all it’s made for these winter lockdown days! 😉
Gratuitous close up of the fabric because it has little silver stars embossed on it and it’s super cute! I’m getting Elsa vibes from it 😀
For my European peeps wondering, the fabric is from Driessenstoffen.
2 – Sweater Knit, medium weight
I got this sweater knit from a remnants bin at the local fabric shop a while ago and it has been waiting for the perfect project. Colleen was definitely it!
These two were really made for each other.
This is size Yellow, regular band, long sleeves and has pockets.
The fabric has a lovely weight to it and makes the card hang just right. I love the bit of volume it gives to the sleeves and it’s just an amazing cardi.
You can see that this isn’t as long as the blue one, it just barely covers the bum as this fabric doesn’t have as much vertical stretch as the velvet.
Pockets!
Who doesn’t love pockets, right?
Colleen allows you to carry all your *ahem* essentials around with you, how fantastic is that? 😛
3 – Sherpa, heavy weight
Talk about cozy!
My machines hated working with this fabric, but it was worth the hassle.
This Colleen has more of a jacket feel than a ‘simple cardigan’. I really like that a lot!
This one is also a size yellow, with regular bands and 3/4 sleeves.
I did have to modify this one a tiny bit.
Due to the volume of the fabric, I made the cuff single-layered to reduce the bulk. I simply didn’t cut it on the fold and hemmed the edge.
I love the body the Sherpa gives the cardigan.
This one will be a definite fall staple on my wardrobe, for the winter cold, it’s only practical when staying inside as it’s too bulky to wear underneath a winter coat.
But come fall, this baby will pair amazingly with all the cute dresses, like this Ruby dress (also from M4M). <3
I still find it so interesting to see how different fabrics change the final look of a pattern. All my Colleens have different vibes and I love all of them. Come Summer I want to try a rayon knit one as a cover-up, doesn’t that sound fantastic?
If you want to grab a copy of the pattern, here’s a linky
COLLEEN CARDIGAN – MADE FOR MERMAIDS
xxx
Livia
