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I am a big fan of sweaters and layering, and when I first saw Haley’s designs for the Flor wrap cardigan, I had an immediate vision in mind. A few months before, I’d lovingly pawed a beautiful Ulla Johnson cardigan at a local boutique: a ribbed wrap cardigan with dramatic gathered sleeves and a deep ribbed cuff.
I purchased this ultra-soft bamboo/cotton fleece-back knit with matching ribbing from Emma One Sock. It’s luxuriously soft and feels wonderful against the skin.
To create the dramatic sleeves, first, I measured the length of the cuff I wanted and divided the sleeve into two pieces: the main sleeve piece and the cuff.
For the cuff piece, I knew I wanted a cuff that was more fitted than the original pattern. So I removed width from the pattern piece to create a fitted style. I cut 4 cuff pieces all together to create a double-layered cuff.
For the sleeve itself, I estimated how much volume I wanted to add at both the sleeve cap and the cuff seam. I slashed and spread the sleeve pattern to add 7” at the bottom and 3 1/2” at the sleeve cap. If you’ve never slashed and spread a pattern before, it’s easy. You can watch this video tutorial on our YouTube channel and we’ll show you how.
I then taped the pieces to some large pieces of scrap paper and used a curved ruler to redraw the bottom seam. I added seam allowance back to this seam at this point.
This is a really easy way to add some romantic volume to a sleeve. It would also look pretty on other knit patterns with long sleeves, like the Neenah dress!
Sarai Mitnik
Chief Executive Officer
Sarai founded Colette in 2009, and now handles strategy, communication, and creative direction. She is the author of The Colette Sewing Handbook and also hosts the Seamwork Radio podcast.
