Canadian Designer Blog Tour

I am so excited to be participating on the Candian Designer Blog Tour hosted by Lulu and Celeste. I am espcially excited to get to sew something up for my big old seventeen year old son! (And, will be sewing more with the coupon at the end of the post!) He kinda gets the short end of the stick when it comes to getting handmade goodies. Which is sad because he WANTS them. Yes! Even teens can appreciate a handmade item. And with a great pattern and the right fabrics, you can even make COOL handmade clothes for teenage boys. 

I have been eyeing Thread Theory for a while now. I hadn't taken the plunge to purchase because I haven't seen a whole lot of talk about them and I wasn't familiar with them. But, when I saw they were one of the designers on this tour, I JUMPED at the chance to sew one of their patterns for my son. We went with the Newcastle Cardigan.

(Something has happened during the upload/compression process from my host site to blogger. I am experiencing some funky color cast and contrast issues in this post. I apologize!)

Based on my son's chest measurement, I sewed a small and it fit him perfectly. The shoulder seam hit exactly where it should and the buttons closed nicely without any pulling across his back or chest. The cardigan is slim fitting yet made of knit fabric, so it is super comfy, but not sloppy looking.

As you can see, he is really slim. He is around 5'10" tall and about 115lbs. I made no adjustments to this and love how it fits him. I used a poly knit performance fabric that is very soft, yet sturdy and has a nice drape to it. My son called this cardigan "beautiful." LOL

There are a few options available with the Newcastle Cardigan. I went simple to keep this young and modern looking, opting to leave out the front and back yokes and making the smaller shaw collar. I think we pulled off the geek chic men's look rather well.

The pattern was very easy to follow and understand. I'd say a confident beginner could hand this. The instructions do assume some techniques like how to easy the sleeve in but does include lots of little tips and tricks as you follow along also.

 

Thread Theory uses illustrations, not actual pictures, in the directions. I found them clear and easy to follow and very well labeled.

It took me a few hours to make this, which isn't bad for the detailing and number of pieces. I had a few moments when I had to walk a way for a bit, but that was not due to the pattern or instructions. My fabric was not wanting to behave properly. I had some stretching issues attaching the facing. The instructions do have some tips when doing this step, but my fabric is a bit extra slinky so some sections kept shifting around on me. In the end, I did win and I got the facing in smoothly.

Next time I make this, I am going to take in the cuffs a bit if I used a cotton/lycra or interlock fabric. The cuffs are the same size as the end of the sleeve and in a wool interlock or fleece, it is great (shown in the photos on the site) but in the type of fabric I used, they look a bit wide, almost stretched out.

I did make a couple small changes based on my fabric. I only interfaced the under collar piece and the button plackets. I did not interface the facing or upper collar as instructed. I wanted to keep the nice drape that the fabric had and feared too much interfacing would change the characteristics of the fabric. I am very happy with my decision. The collar had enough structure to hold it's shape, yet laid nicely on my son's shoulders and the facing stayed in place well, but the cardigan fell open in a very relaxed and casual way.

I am definitely going to be investing into some Thread Theory patterns after this! It is so hard to find great, stylish men's clothing patterns and this company has some fantastic ones to offer! My son really likes the Goldstream Peacoat and I hope to sew him up one by this fall. I LOVE the Jutland Pants and plan to make some for my husband. I would sew up a pair or six for my son, but they only go down to a 30" waist and Mr. SlimMan here measures a 28" waist.

Lucky for me (AND YOU!!) Thread Theory is offering an amazing coupon good from June 8-July8. Just enter CANADATOUR for 25% off! I know I am grabbing several new patterns and will have a very happy son.

Thread Theory is also offering a Comox Trunk kit and pattern. Retail value $28 CDN.

http://threadtheory.ca/collections/patterns/products/comox-trunks-supplies-kit They will ship internationally. :) Just enter the rafflecopter below for your chance to win. The contest will run from June 8 at 12am and end June 11 at 12am.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

There are a lot of amazing designers and bloggers and giveaways on the Canadian Designer Tour! You can check it all out over at Lulu & Celeste.

   June 1 - 3Gracious Threads - InterviewCreative Bug - The Wholesome Mama - stitched by crystalJune 4 - 6Jalie – InterviewShaffer Sisters – Call Ajaire – hibbadorayJune 8 – 10Thread Theory – InterviewHandmade Boy – Rebel & Malice – Sew Out of ControlJune 11 - 13Audrey & Tiffany – InterviewAll Things Katy! – Not Sew Fast – Conversas de HermanaJune 15 – 17E+M Patterns – InterviewFrom-a-Box – Made by Sara – Climbing the WillowJune 17 - 19Victory Patterns – InterviewSwoodson Says – Thread Riding Hood – Sprouting JubeJubeJune 18 – 20FABulous Home Sewn – InterviewCreate3.5 – Calm and Carrion – Stitches by LauraJune 22 – 24Filles a Maman – InterviewPattern Revolution – PhatQuarters – sewstarly – House of EstrelaJune 24 – 26Closet Case Files – Interviewgloria june – Rebel & Malice – Sew Far NorthJune 25 – 27Elegance & Elephants – InterviewSprouting JubeJube – AmandaRose – Mae & KJune 29 - 30Lulu & Celeste: new makes and a round up postJuly 1stLast day to enter Giveaways and Final Round up Post!

 And thank you to all the fabulous sponsors!!!!

I was given the pattern used in this post in exchange for my participation in the blog tour. My review and opinions of the pattern are my own. No brainwashing has taken place. I do really love the pattern and plan to purchase more. :)