Meet my new man Auden…

I do love a good cardie. More comfortable than a jacket, loads of colours to choose from, and best of all, no potential for me to be cold. I hate being cold. While several members of my family were definitely born in tents (or yurts, for the hipper among us?), I’m the one shutting doors & cranking up the heat pump , like the Nana I essentially am…

So when Jen at Jennifer Lauren Handmade put out a call for reviews of her Auden men’s cardigan I was intrigued. Could I drag Mr D away from his beloved sweaters & hoodies, and convert him to the joys of a nice cardie?

The Auden is designed to be made with a low stretch sweatshirt knit ( as opposed to wool, in which case you’d need to wait about five years for this post …..slowwww knitter!). That, and the retro style, was what caught my eye. Like his wonderful (?) wife, Mr D is wedded to weekend comfort. Suited and booted daily (with a magnificent cuff link collection I must remember to share actually), he loves to relax on downtime in comfort, while not “looking like an old fart”.

Flatulence aside, the relaxed, yet still slim line shape was really appealing. Also the contrast band & elbow patches. In fact when I showed him the pics & said “would you wear this”, his first response? “Yep, I really like the tartan detail at the front”. Ok then Douglas.

The pattern sizing covers S-XXL, I made M , which is a 39 1/4 chest, and a 36 waist. Mr D is 6 ft 3″ so I added 1 ” to the sleeve. Next time I would also add about 2 ” to the torso, as he like his tops a bit longer. For his reason, I did a very short hem on this version, which doesn’t look great!

The pattern came as a PDF, I know a lot of people loath PDFs, but I actually find the cutting & taping quite relaxing. I do it with a glass of wine & something good on the TV. The PDF came together easily, and both views , with and without contrast bands , came as separate pieces, so you only had to cut & tape what is required. After 70 years of sewing , my 82 year old Mum has recently discovered PDF patterns, seriously anyone can do it!

The main fabric is a sweatshirt knit from Centrepoint Fabrics, with a lovely trim of the most delicious Irish Linen from Miss Maude. Who wouldn’t want to wear Dandy linen, seriously?

The raglan sleeves attach to the body of the cardie with a cool curved seam . I used plenty of pins and took my time, it was actually quite simple to do, and I love the retro effect the give.

As you can see the front neckline is gaping slightly, I managed to stretch it out and only realized when I had already done my buttonholes & attached my buttons I was a wee bit off…bit late then!

This is a relatively easy sew. I say that because I didn’t find anything particularly challenging….but I did make a few mistakes. So basically, at a first run, you will still end up with something entirely wearable, and depending on the shape of your model, and your own skill level, possibly pretty darn fabulous. I should have factored in Glenn’s long torso (doh!), and not managed to put my twin needle in a very safe place (i.e lost), so I had to stitch the (too skinny) hem twice .

Next time I would also do the Narrow Arm Adjustment  Jen details on her blog ,the arms just feel a wee bit wide around the cuff area.

Will I be making more cardies for Mr D? Yep, I’ve already cut out a purple version , not my colour choice, but with black denim elbow patches, and a band going around the hem, as per my models request. It’s a lot of fun to make clothing for others, and I enjoy Glenn being involved in the process. If you were thinking about some sewing for a bloke in your life, this would be an excellent place to start!

Open Kimono. Jennifer put a call out for reviews & Mr D really liked the pattern. I received it in exchange for an honest review. Believe me, if the man of the house had complaints you’d be hearing them. Whether you wanted to or not…

Hope you’ve had a lovely weekend!

Kristina xxx