Cardi Wrap Review

(Be sure and check out what others are sewing for their tweens with our linky party)

It's time to start thinking about Fall and with that some items of clothing that can keep you warm in the mornings but can be taken off for the afternoons that still get up into the 80's here in the South. 

A while back I saw this tutorial for a Cardi Wrap over at the Sewing Rabbit and tucked it away in the back of my mind as something I bet my daughter would love to have. Originally I thought she would want it as a ballet wrap, but she's been saying her classroom is chilly so it will probably get more use at school.

Well since it will start cooling down soon (if I say it enough times it is bound to happen right?), I thought it was time to try it out and here is the run down.

The Review

Pattern: Draped Knit Kids Cardi--It's not a true pattern or even tutorial (as in lots of how-to pics and spelled out directions), but really just a quick how-to.

Source: The Sewing Rabbit

Size: Since you 'trace' it from a shirt that fits, it is custom sized

Materials needed: About a yard (or more depending on the size of your tween--Sophia is a petite gal and wears mostly size 8 still--a yard was plenty with some to spare) of any knit fabric

Skill Level: While the sewing skills needed are very beginner skills in general (6 seams and nothing even like hemming), the thing that makes this tricky is that you are sewing with knits and you have to draft your own sleeves. 

What I liked: The concept is cute and easy to implement. From cutting to finish is an hour long project max. With a serger it went super fast. The reason...you don't do any finishing work, just the seams to hold it together. What else did I like? My daughter loves it! In fact she declared that this might be her favorite thing I've made for her. (She does have a thing for little wraps and cardigan type sweaters though) She's already requested a couple more in different colors. And she had a lot of fun trying out the different ways to wear it, which makes it versatile. 

What I didn't like: Like I said, it's a bare bones how-to with not much in the way of directions. This really comes into play when it's time to cut out the sleeves. If you haven't done it before, you probably could end up very confused.  My advice: Sew the shoulder seams and then lay out the piece over the fabric to use the curve of where the sleeve will be sewn on to as a guide when it comes to guessing how big to make your sleeves.

The other thing I didn't like was that 12" for the extension on the front pieces is not enough. I did more like 14" and even that was not enough for my daughter. It would have been easier to knot together with a couple more inches. (see the picture)

With all that being said, I give this 'how-to'/pattern lightning bolts  because of how easy it was and the fact that my daughter loves it. I would give it more if there were more details given on how to draft the sleeves.
Linking up at The Train to Crazy