My Burdastyle Andrew cardigan is finished, just in time for Valentine’s Day! In the final part of this sew along, we’ll make and attach the sleeves. We’ll also make the buttonholes to complete the cardigan so you can give it to your loved one this Valentine’s Day.

Sleeve and Sleeve Cuff

This step is pretty simple, just make sure that all seams meet so you have a professional finish.

Attach the Sleeve

It took me several attempts at pinning the sleeve on to the body piece to get the curves correct. This is REALLY hard to photograph, but you can see I was not stingy with the pins! I stitched very, very slowly around the curves to sew them as accurately as possible.

Make Buttonholes

You need to make 3 buttonholes on the main fabric, and 1 on the waistband, using the buttonhole foot on your machine. Use a pin and seam ripper to cut the fabric where the button will go through.

Attach Buttons

Stitch on 4 buttons and it’s finished! Yay!

Now that I know how the cardigan fits on my husband, I realise I need to lengthen it slightly. I think the shoulders look a bit too wide on him as well. I enjoyed this sewing pattern so I can definitely see myself making it again, with the adjustments. He really likes the cardigan, by the way! The fabric is really soft and lightweight, so he can wear it all year round here in San Francisco.

This project also helped me get over my fear of knit fabrics, one of the sewing goals I set out for 2014. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy sweatshirt knit was to handle, especially when cutting. Next up, I’d like to try sewing ponte knits and sweater knits, I think.

How did your Burda Patterns Andrew cardigan go? Did you like the sewing pattern?

Now we get to enjoy the fun part of Burdastyle’s Andrew cardigan; sewing! In Part 1, we cut the pattern and fabric. Today in Part 2, let’s sew the the main body section, including the neckline and ribbed waistband.

Shoulder and Side Seams

I used a zig-zag stitch with a ball point needle for all of my seams, because I’m working with a sweatshirt knit fabric. It really helps to get the right settings by testing on scrap fabric. Ideally, you can neaten the seam allowances with a serger or overlocker. Unfortunately, my beloved overlocker is back home in Australia, so I used an overcast zig-zag stitch instead.

Neckline Facing

The instructions go into detail about using a woven trim for the neckline. I found this quite confusing, so here is what I did. First, zig-zag stitch along the outer edge of the neckline facing. Then, right sides facing, stitch the inner edge of the neckline facing to the front opening of the cardigan. Snip along the curves.

Attaching the Waist Band

Once you’ve made the waistband following Burdastyle’s instructions, pin it on to the cardigan. Turn the neckline facing and also pin this on to the waistband and cardigan’s hem.

After stitching the waistband on to the cardigan, zig-zag the edges together for a neat finish.

I also snipped the corner where the cardigan, waistband and neckline facing meet to remove some bulk.

Topstitch the Neckline

Fold the neckline facing back to the inside of the cardigan and topstitch with a straight stitch. This stitch is visible, so be extra careful about sewing straight!

I’m finding sweatshirt knit to be really fun and easy to sew. It’s not long to go now, in Part 3, let’s make the sleeves, attach buttons and finish the cardigan!

Welcome to Part 1 of the Burdastyle Andrew cardigan sew-along. Let’s talk about fabric, printing the pattern and cutting it out. Burdastyle recommends wool knit fabric or cotton sweatshirt fabric for this project. I wanted to make my cardigan really cozy, so I’ve opted for this black, organic sweatshirt fleece from Fabric.com. You also need ribbed knit fabric for the cuffs and waistband. My husband wears brightly coloured t-shirts to work, so I’ve kept the cardigan simple by keeping everything black.

On the Burdastyle website, there are some great versions of Andrew using a contrasting rib knit. You also need matching interfacing and buttons. The pattern calls for snap buttons, but I’m using standard plastic buttons instead.

Printing

If you’re printing the sewing pattern at home, you need to use either A4 or Legal Size (US) paper. Being new to the US, I had no idea what Legal Size meant. It seems to be a longer version of the standard, A4 size. The most important thing is to set the printer to DO NOT SCALE.

Gluing and cutting the pattern

Definitely not my favourite part of sewing! I l trimmed the top and right edges of each sheet using a stanley knife and stick the sheets together with a glue stick. Just listen to a podcast and it’ll all be done before you know it. There are 8 pattern pieces in total.

Cutting the pattern and fabric

What is labelled as ANKLE BAND is actually the front waist band. The instructions tell you to mark the placement of the top snap button on the FRONT body piece. To do this, I measured the distance from the edge of Size 44 to the black X mark on the sewing pattern (1 1/16″). Then, slide your ruler up until you hit the edge for the size which you are making. My cardigan will be Size 46, so this is where I placed the X (in red) for my top snap button. Mark the same spot on your fabric.

Interfacing

Interfacing is required along the three facing pieces. I like to pin my fabric on to the interfacing and then cut it out.

That’s it for Part 1! Next time, let’s sew the body and the waistband. What fabric have you chosen to use for your Andrew cardigan?

We have just under 3 weeks before Valentine’s Day is upon us. Why not sew your special man the Burdastyle Andrew cardigan? It’s a classic, v-neck cardigan with a ribbed cuff and bottom band. Best part is, you can steal it to wear the “boyfriend” cardigan trend!

Every few days, I’ll be posting my progress with sewing this cardigan. I hope you can join me so we can share tips and tricks along the way.

The Pattern

This cardigan sewing pattern #6030 can be purchased from Burdastyle for $5.99. It’s a downloadable pattern, which needs to be printed at home.

Materials

I’ve chosen an organic cotton sweatshirt fabric in Black from Fabric.com, with a matching black, rib knit. I also have four black buttons ready to go. Don’t forget your ball point needle!