Itch to Stitch Book Release! – Carlsbad Cardigan

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Time for another Itch to Stitch Sew Beautiful make! The Carlsbad Cardigan is my FAVORITE thing in the upcoming book from Itch to Stitch, Sew Beautiful: Make Stylish Handmade Clothing with Simple Stitch-And-Wear Patterns. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the Prague Top, this book includes 8 beginner friendly patterns, perfect for a capsule wardrobe, and releases on December 8 in both Kindle and paperback versions, and you can preorder it right now! (Note, more worldwide resellers are listed at the bottom of this post).

I just love love love Carlsbad! I first tested this pattern over a year ago now in a stripy fabric that, while perfectly pattern matched, was not a favorite fabric. So I wore it obsessively around the house, but not so much OUT of the house. New ones definitely had to be made for this book release!

About the Pattern

The Carlsbad Cardigan is suitable for knits and features a hi-lo hemline, soft draped front, and optional sleeves (so you can make a vest instead if you like!). It’s super easy to lengthen – in fact, I lengthened my purple one by 9 inches and my cream one by 5 inches. I also added 1″ to the sleeves. You will of course, need to ensure you have enough fabric if you choose to do that!

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Carlsbad is SO easy to sew up and the only measurement you need to go by is the bust size (31 1/8″ – 46″). So, this means you can easily whip these up for all your friends! Did I mention it’s easy? I cut and sewed up my cream version (my third one) in about 1.5 hours on Monday night (Full disclosure, I do have a serger and coverstitch machine which do help to speed the process up, but even if you’re just using a sewing machine, it shouldn’t take much extra time). One thing to be aware of though, is that your top stitching will show on the reverse side in the front. I used black thread on the back of my purple one rather than changing my coverstitch looper over to purple, so that was probably a bit unfortunate.

I’m calling it “a design feature” 😉.

Speaking of the top stitching, the way in which the hemming is done is probably my absolute favorite thing in this pattern. It’s kinda magical really. The corners are all cut at 45 degree angles, folded with a little bit of origami, then sewn to a perfect miter before you fold the sides into place and topstitch everything. Clear as mud? Kennis does a way better job of explaining it in the pattern instructions than I can! And honestly, if you only ever sewed up the Carlsbad from this book, you’ll get your money’s worth! (The digital version is the same price as a normal PDF pattern in the Itch to Stitch shop, and the printed version is the same price as buying 2 PDFs).

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About the Fabric

There are so many great fabrics you can choose from to make Carlsbad. I used a Hacci sweater knit from Fabric Mart for my purple one – it’s nice, soft, and super comfy! My cream version is made from waffle knit that I won from Mily Mae Fabrics last year. It’s also super comfy – in fact, my friend (who took my pics for me) was swooning all over it! Both are going to get a big workout!

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Buy the Book!

For US purchasers:

• Amazon
• Barnes & Noble
• Books-a-Million 
• Indiebound
• Book Depository

For non-US purchasers:

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• Netherlands
• Spain
• UK

More book details:

What formats are available?

1. Printed soft-cover book:
   It’s a beautifully-printed book full of gorgeous photos and illustrations. The printed patterns (in color) are enclosed in the back of the book. You will need to trace the patterns using tissue paper (medical exam paper or Swedish tracing paper). The pattern pieces are staggered on each other (a la Burda or Ottobre magazine).
2. Kindle book with PDF patterns:
   For those who have a Kindle device, you know what a Kindle book is. But even for those who don’t own a Kindle, you can download the Kindle app onto your mobile device (iPhone or Android) or computer (Mac or Windows), so you too can enjoy the Kindle book. The Kindle format will include a link and a password for you to download the PDF patterns. The PDF patterns look and work just like regular Itch to Stitch PDF patterns—they have one file that you can print using US Letter or A4 size paper, and another file that you can print using A0 size paper. These pattern pieces are not staggered (as I said, they are just like regular Itch to Stitch patterns).