I contacted Helen offering to test her latest pattern after hearing her podcast with Rachel from MakerStyle. I was pretty excited to find out the pattern was a cardigan. The line drawings really appealed. A simple chic cardigan pattern is surprisingly hard to come by! In Wellington I always need a layer to throw on before I step outside.

Helen has written wonderful instructions this is a lovely simple make I made one in 2 hours! The whole cardigan is sewn on the serger and is top stitched around the front band. Check out the pattern here and view the other awesome tester versions here. Helen is currently running  a sewalong with lots of helpful hints and tips.

I made my first version in view A which I felt was a bit too long on my frame  (see photo below) I’m 165cm tall for reference. On the slightly taller testers view A looked awesome.

I shortened the length of the cardigan by 3 inches. I love the finished product, it’s lovely and light for layering and is the perfect length for me. All my versions are size L. The only adjustments I’ve made to the pattern was to shorten the sleeve an inch and the cuffs two inches.

This is a sewn in a Japanese wool blend. I’ve also made two other versions in view B:

This version is a cotton knit.

This version is slightly thicker it’s a fabric called Nuyarn which is a merino sandwiched between nylon.

The Blackwood is one of my closet staples I can see more in my closet.

Happy sewing