For me, Me-Made May is all about figuring out what works in my daily wardrobe and and what doesn’t. As a rule, I tend to wear me-made separates that I mix and match. The questions I ask myself are – – which me-made pieces do I reach for because they make me feel great, and which ones drive me crazy as I wear them? I take notes about my daily choices for myself, only keeping photos of outfits that are revealing in some way to me. The pieces that don’t work are thrown into the revision or donate pile. I don’t post my outfits on social media – – yes, I love seeing other people’s posts but can’t bear thirty-one days of photographs of myself, LOL!!

I’ve had a couple of revelations this month – the big one, which is the subject of this post is my absolute daily dependence on cardigans! Seriously, I wear them almost every day Unpredictable May weather is the culprit – – in Oregon it can be cold enough for a coat in the morning, but shirt-sleeve weather in the afternoon. Enter the Blackwood cardigan!

Last year, my favorite cardigan pattern was  McCall’s 7476 made here and here. This year, my obvious favorite is the blackwood cardigan by Helen’s Closet patterns.

I’m probably the last blogger to be smitten with this pattern, but what can I say? Better late than never…

Why do I love it? For one thing, the design is perfect for throwing over tops or dresses. Helen suggests that it be used as a layering piece and this blue version I made works with everything in my closet in part, because it’s blue, but also because the length and the cut are superb over everything!

I usually gravitate toward knits that have cotton as the primary ingredient, but I really love how this rayon knit feel against my skin. And it slides over sleeves so nicely!

Design notes: The Blackwood rests perfectly on the shoulders which makes it great for wearing with a variety of tops and dresses. The bottom band is wide and it shapes the hemline of the sweater in a very flattering way. I love the longer length (perfect for me at 5”4”) and the wide cuff on the sleeve. The pocket size is perfection too!!

Construction notes;

• For this pattern – the stretch and drape of the knit is everything. You want to make sure your knit has enough stretch on the cross grain for this pattern. Because it isn’t designed to close in the front, if you don’t have enough stretch, this sweater will likely gape open and probably won’t look or feel that great.
• The front band needs to be stretched slightly to fit.
• I stabilized the top of the pockets with a strip of fusible interfacing to keep them from sagging too much.

I’m wearing it here with the Simplicity top I posted a few weeks ago (here).

I give this cardigan a big thumbs up. It’s a quick, fun sew that does the heavy lifting in my wardrobe, and as a result of my Me-Made-May discovery, I will likely make this pattern again and again! My other cardigan patterns will remain favorites, but it’s nice to expand my cardigan universe.  Thanks so much to those of you who recommended this pattern when I asked for ideas in a post last month!

Are you as hooked on cardigans as I am? Happy sewing and thanks for stopping by!