Happy Monday peops! If you fancy a really quick make to stave off the Monday blues then look no further! You could easily knock one of these up in a couple of hours. No pattern required. Just a few measurements, 1.5m of knit and you’re good to go….
This is one of two Hacci knits kindly sent to me by Girl Charlee. You can see what I did with the other one here. Of the two, this was the easier to work with. Both my serger and standard machine handled this well with fine jersey needles. You’ll likely need to employ the differential feed on your serger due to the fabric’s urge to stretch under the pressure foot. So recommend swatching to perfect your settings before you get going 😉
Totally doable though as evidenced by the stripe matching I managed to achieve! On. A. Serger. Get in there!!! No fabric shifting going on there y’all!
While I stripe matched the side seams, I went for offset stripes on the kimono band to accentuate and make a feature of it…
More stripe matching on that shoulder seam! (I was having a good day!!)
For the kimono cuffs I went perpendicular with my stripes to add some more interest. Gotta love a bit of stripe play 😉
Such a simple make. Let’s talk measurements. You need 2 identical rectangles. As long as you want your finished cardi + as wide as your “shoulder to shoulder” plus a couple of inches…
Lay one rectangle on top of the other.  From the top layer only, cut a 4″ wide strip straight out of the centre then serge straight across the the top to join everything together…
Snip in to your side seams approx 8″-9″ down to mark your armhole opening…
Serge down the side seams from this notch all the way down the sides…
Create a 4″ wide strip long enough to go all the way around your cardi opening. Mine was cut in 2 pieces and joined. Fold in half RS together, serge the ends closed. Turn through RS out then align the raw edges and pin together to keep them aligned. Press.
With the kimono RS out attach the band all the way around the opening with raw edges aligned…
Before you sew, press the hem under 5/8″ on the WS. Then flip it over to enclose the end of your band like so. (This is the same technique as I used on my Kimono for The Refashioners if you want more detail). Serge all the way around the the band, secure threads. Turn the seam to the inside and push the corners through. Hem.
Next create 2 tubes of fabric the same width as your armhole. Â With the kimono WS out and the sleeves RS out pin in place around the armhole, aligning raw edges, then serge together…
Lastly create 2 cuff bands (a tube folded in half) the same width as your sleeves and attach in the same way. RS together, raw edges aligned. Serge together.
All done!! The nature of hacci knit (it’s very lightweight) will make this a perfect cover up for warmer days too and it’s a great way to layer without adding too much bulk 🙂 I fancy trying this in some french terry too for a warmer version!
For this week only Girl Charlee are offering 15% off (plus free shipping on orders over £50) when you use the code PORTIA15 at checkout 🙂 Code expires Sunday 18th Oct Midnight GMT.
Here’s a gratuitous close up of my trimmings aka #sergerspew #sergerporn , lol! (It will give you a good idea of the texture so does actually serve a purpose. Plus it’s so puuuuurty! Happy Monday people!