In the Folds FREE Slouchy Cardi

What's better than a FREE, fast & easy sewing pattern? How about a FREE, fast & easy sewing pattern that will fit lots of bodies?

This is the Slouchy Cardi from In the Folds, offered for free download (FREE!) by Peppermint Magazine, here.

Click on the sizing chart below to enlarge it (or look at the sizing chart at the Peppermint Magazine site linked above). This pattern is drafted to be loose-fitting with a lot of ease, to give it that slouchy look. I'm not a huge fan of quite so much slouch so I picked my size by the finished measurements for Size F, which is still bigger than my actual measurements and gives me minimal ease, which is fine since the knit I used is plenty stretchy. (It's a Liverpool knit from Cali Fabrics, which is now sold out.) Because of the generous size range and sizING, this Slouchy Cardi will fit many shapes and sizes.

Here's the schematic for the pattern pieces. I wanted to point out the band piece and how long it is. (It's the sheets on the right starting at 35 and going straight down to 28.) Once you've got both band pieces sewn together and pressed, that's a LOT of curved band to wrestle with and attach evenly to the cardi body. Do not skimp on marking pattern notches (of which there are plenty, yay!) and do not skimp on pins. Do not do what I did and think you can just wing it, because you'll have to pin/re-pin about 378 times to get the band distributed evenly around the cardi body. Yeah. Not marking those notches was no shortcut.

And here's another of the fantastic work bathroom selfies. To make things even better, of course I used black fabric so you can't see any details.

In order to zoom in so you can see a few details, it meant including items that really showed the bathroom part of the "work bathroom selfie." It's hard to believe this scribble erasing is from a former graphic designer, but hey … I'm at work and this computer has no real photo-editing software so it was either this or a toilet and tampon dispenser. Hah. Anyway, the sleeves are finished with a wide cuff. This sleeve is not too long for me; I'm just holding the cuff in an attempt to show it better. I'm pretty certain that worked better in my mind. If you click the photo to enlarge it, you might also be able to slightly see the curved band around the cardi body. What you won't be able to see is the sideseam pockets, because I didn't add them. I was already below the pattern's stated fabric requirements and pockets just weren't going to fit.

Below you can see that this is actually a fairly long cardigan. I really love how easy but elegant the curved band is. With this cardi's slight cocoon shape, longer length, and dropped shoulders, I'm feeling 1980s goodness all over again. All I need is my shoulder pads and Aqua Net.

The last two pics are essentially the same. All I moved was my head, trying for that artful pose or something. Yeah, no.

And that's pretty much all I have to say about that (Forrest Gump). The dress I'm wearing is a Cashmerette Turner, made a couple of years ago, and still in rotation.

I know this essentially was a drive-by review, but that's just about how fast it is to cut and sew this Slouchy Cardi. Especially if you do 99% with your serger. I did use my sewing machine to edgestich around the entire band (but not the cuffs) and that's it.

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On a different and more serious note, thank you for all of your kind words after my last post. The boys are doing OK. It was a shock, and still is, but we're moving on. All of the blended family came together in St. Augustine for a "Celebration of Life." It was everything it should've been and Mike would have loved it.