Style Maker Fabrics is Going Red this month in honor of the National Go Red for Women campaign from the American Heart Association. Heart Disease is the #1 killer in women and this is something that we should all continue to be aware of and take steps to prevent. I decided to “Sew Red” this week and work on a project that I have been putting off… it involves matching plaids!
My project this week was one of the patterns included with Seamwork’s December issue, the Oslo Cardigan. Seamwork is a brand new online magazine Colette Patterns launched this past December. Each month’s issue is full of interesting articles about different makers, techniques for sewing with new fabrics and lots of great advice and project ideas. If you haven’t checked it out yet I would highly encourage it. The magazine articles are FREE, but with a $6 subscription each month you get TWO brand new patterns to download.
I wanted to try making my own Oslo Cardigan in a warm but structured double knit and chose an interesting Houndstooth Plaid with quite a large pattern repeat. While I knew this fabric would look amazing when the cardigan was finished, I was a bit scared of having to match all of those plaid lines- something I hadn’t really done before! With the help of a Plaid Matching Guide (also from Colette Patterns) and some assistance from a fellow Style Maker I was able to conquer my fear of plaid and have some amazing results to share.
Probably the most time consuming part of this project was matching up the two fabric layers. I tried unsuccessfully 3 different ways to match up the selvages and get the plaid line matched up. I finally matched up the pattern and pinned the plaids in place every 6 to 8 inches. I learned a lot in this process and would probably just skip to pinning the layers next time I have a pattern to match- especially for knits since the grainline can be a little (or even a lot) wonky. I am definitely ready to take on more plaid or stripe projects!
Once I got all the pieces cut out, my Oslo went together very quickly. Gave it a good press and it is ready for National Wear Red Day (which is today!). I’m going to pair it with some black leggings, black tank top and short boots. It should be an amazing outfit in honor of a very important cause!
Learn more about heart disease in women and the Go Red for Women campaign HERE.
Wear Red!
~Michelle