I went to Toronto in February and told my mother- and sister-in-law that I did not, under any circumstances, want to buy any fabric. I thought I was safe since we wouldn’t be in any neighbourhoods with fabric stores. But then, we walked past a designer selling ends of their fabrics so I looked.

And then I bought. And now, I’m regretting not getting more. This designer (I cannot for the life of me remember the name) was selling bolts and rolls of really, really nice knits and suiting. The knits were going for $5 per metre, so I grabbed two metres of a basic navy and white stripe for a grand total of $11.30.

The fabric was a bit thicker and fairly stable and so the perfect candidate for a Blackwood Cardigan. I toyed with the idea of making a super long one again, but I knew that this sweater would be my go-with-everything cardi for traveling this summer and it would need to work until a light coat.

I sized down two sizes this time (I had unnecessarily sized up one for the jaquard knit Blackwood as it had less stretch), didn’t bother with pockets and the result is a perfect summer cardi. I actually owned a cardigan that looked pretty much exactly the same and wore it so much I put holes right through it, so I already know that this sweater is filling a gaping hole in my wardrobe.

To avoid spending tons of time matching stripes, I cut the cuffs and long band on the cross-grain and I quite like the effect. I also cut the main pieces and hem band so that I would have an extra wide blue stripe at that seam. Mostly, this was so that I wouldn’t have to worry about any bits of white showing through my seam allowances, but I actually really like the way it looks.

I also used bias tape to stabilize the shoulder seam in this version because I will use any excuse to use bias tape to add some detail. I went with some red because I was feeling particularly nautical.

I managed to use only about a metre of the fabric, so I still have enough to make another top. (Ummmm, possibly a Mandy Boat Tee because it’s FREE Y’ALL). I love a good neutral stripe.