Striped Oslo Cardigan

One of the things I love about sewing is that once you’ve made something successfully, the second time you make it is so much faster! I am a tracer of patterns (vs. cutting the pattern itself), so the first time I make something I trace my size onto Swedish tracing paper (and often it’s graded between sizes), cut out the traced pieces and only then I can move on to cutting the fabric. There can also be muslins involved before I even start sewing the actual garment, so that’s another time-consuming step. The idea is that by the second time I make something, that is all out of the way and I can just cut the fabric and sew. So I was especially excited when I went to sew a Seamwork Oslo Cardigan for the second time and was able to cut the fabric and sew it in a just one day!

A lot of you reading this are probably fast sewers, so this may not be impressive to you. Since it’s meant to be sewn with knits, this should be a pretty quick garment to sew and because of its loose and boxy shape there shouldn’t be a lot of fit issues. Still, for a slow-poke tracer like me, how fast I was able to sew it up was very exciting for me.

It was also fun to sew because I have been sewing so many complicated things lately; a lot of button up shirts and things in plaid that require muslins, fit adjustments, careful cutting and plaid matching. So this felt like a dream to sew.

Details

Pattern

Seamwork Oslo Cardigan

Size traced and sewn

Medium

Alterations

None

Fabric Used

Wool knit from Nancy’s Sewing Basket’s closing sale.

Fit

Last time, I felt like the cuffs were a little tight initially, but I am glad I didn’t try to widen them for this version because the wool knit has much more stretch than my first version. The cuffs fit perfectly this time. Overall, the drape and fit are WAY better, which probably just means this was a more appropriate fabric choice than my first version.

Changes I made from last time

1. This time did not tack the collar down or the cuffs up.

On my first version, I had to tack down the collar and the cuffs to get the collar to hold a good shape and the cuffs to stay in place (again, probably because the fabric was not the best choice). For this version, I didn’t feel like I had to do that because I thought it looked great just worn as is. I also really liked the lengths of the cuffs unrolled. It adds to the coziness, almost like they should have finger holes. I guess they could in the future. I just have to remember to roll them up when I wash my hands or my cuffs get soaked.

2. Left the buttons off.

I didn’t like the placement of the buttons on my last Oslo at all. They felt too low when I first made it and they still do. It just does not look good or feel good when buttoned and I still struggle with how to wear it. It’s one of the reasons I don’t wear it that much. Lately, I have been wanting to try to fix it by adding a third row of buttons at the top. For this version, I skipped the buttons altogether and think that was a good choice.

I’m not going to say I had given up on the Oslo before this—because I hadn’t exactly—but as you can probably tell, I did not love my first one. I am so glad I made it again in a more appropriate fabric, because now I love it. It’s so comfy and like wearing a bathrobe to work, but a stylish one that doesn’t make me feel like I am sick. I can now add it to my list of secret pajamas!

I also love that it goes so well with my gray bird print Staple Dress. It makes me happy that I have finally figured out a color palette that I like and wear often (gray and navy blue mostly). It’s been informing the way I purchase fabric and make things, so everything goes together better and I am able to mix and match for more outfit combinations. Hey wait, isn’t that what you would call a capsule wardrobe? I think I am starting to get this!