Callie Cardi - Sonia Estep Designs

Brrrr it is starting to get that crisp feeling in the air, and that means it’s FALL and layering! This is honestly my favorite time of the year. As much as I love summer warmth, there really is nothing quite like apple picking, getting cozy after being out in the crisp air all day and hot beverages! To start off my new fall wardrobe, I made this fabulous Callie Cardi from Sonia Estep Designs. The perfect compliment to my fall wardrobe! AND It is being Re-Released with some great updates!

The Pattern

I just love patterns with options. Not to say that singular patterns aren’t great, but I love to customize the garment to my personal taste.

The Callie Cardi has two length options (Long and Short) and four sleeve options (Long, 3/, Bishop and Vest) giving you several different versions that you can make. The one constant is the front bodice pieces making a waterfall style cardigan. I love me some drape!

Fabric choice

Oh this fabric, I did not get enough of it. With this being a cardigan I knew sweater knit was exactly what I wanted to use. Specifically, this fabric is a beautiful waffle knit from Sincerely Rylee Fabrics. This color happens to be called Wine which I think is a great color name.

It is a lighter weight sweater knit at around 200gsm making this a great layering piece, without being too bulky and heavy. This particular waffle knit is a blend of mostly rayon with some spandex giving it a great 100/50 stretch

I found this fabric to be very easy to work with, and held my serger seams together very well. It also helps that it is very soft making it a dream to wear.

Sewing!

Now, what did I think about sewing this pattern? Overall it was a VERY easy and quick sew.

I did find one tricky area, at least for me personally, at the shoulder seams and neckband. I found this tricky only because I am used to doing the neck band in the round verses this pattern which needs you to sew only from one shoulder seam to the other. I struggled with this when I made my muslin of the pattern, but after constructing the garment, I understood the process better resulting in this fabulous cardigan!He

The front bodice pieces were also a fun sew! Initially cutting them out I did not fully picture how this cardigan would turn out but its all in the drape.

I was a size 6 for this pattern. I also made bishop sleeves, and did not hem the cardigan as I preferred the look of the raw edge.

This was also the first time I made Bishop sleeves, which is a long sleeve gathered at the bottom with a cuff, giving a baggy almost bell like effect. I am still learning how to do a proper gather, but the results on this cardigan were wonderful.

Would I change anything next time?

Overall I actually really liked the pattern as it is. If I were to change anything, I might try the other sleeve options. If I were to make the bishop sleeve again, I would actually try grading up a size or two to make a more dramatic bishop sleeve look. Otherwise, no changes needed!