I am 100% obsessed with cute cardigans It’s my mission in life to have them in every colour and with every cute embellishment. Trust me when I say my cardigan collection is vast! I think my favourite is an embroidered cardigan from Hellbunny (shown below) because I can’t say no to an embroidery. When I saw this Collectif cardigan (middle below) on Modcloth, embellished with ric rac and a cactus embroidery, it was so hard not to click ‘add to cart’. My heart was saying ‘yes’ and my wallet was saying ‘no’ and then I realised my size was sold out. And that’s when I knew I had to have a good go at a DIY version…
I really am so new to embroidery. I’ve made a few things here and there (this tote, this dog portrait and this tee) but I am by no means skilled at this. I don’t like making things for the sake of making them, which means I don’t get that much practice and then I’m always crossing my fingers that I can make it all work! I’ve never been sure how to get good results on stretchy things, I kind of winged that cobweb tee and let’s be honest, the organic shapes hide any issues. So I did my research before attempting this cardigan. A few people recommended using a product called Fabri Sticky-Solvy (hereafter called sticky stabiliser) from Sulky. As luck would have it, I had some in the sewing room that I’d bought a while back for a project that I never got to. It was exactly what I needed!
See it’s hard not to warp a stretchy fabric when you hoop it and then your stitches that seem straight are all warped and wonky later. Some stitches are loose and loopy and others too tight. Even if you don’t hoop, it’s hard to tension the stitches just right. The sticky stabiliser keeps everything in order, you can hoop a knit for stability and is easy to stitch though too. Plus getting an embroidery design transferred to black can be a pain but you can draw or inkjet print your design on to this sticky stabiliser as a guide, oh yes!
I started out with a $10 cardigan from Kmart. I would have preferred to use a second hand cardigan (fast fashion and all of that) but there are very few plus size options out there. I really should have washed and dried it first (more on that below) but alas I did not. I loved the ric rac on the Collectif cardigan and I always have some ric rac kicking around, so I started by machine stitching ric rac around the neckline with a straight stitch. I tucked the ends of the ric rac under the edge and because ric rac really frays, I hit with some fay check to be sure. I also planned on changing out the buttons but wanted to see how my design came together.
I chose this Catcus design from Urban Threads to embroider. My printer is a little bitch and she hates me (which might be because I forced some shrink plastic through it – eep!) so I transferred my design to the sitcky stabiliser by hand. Once your design is on the fabric feeling side (not the paper side) of the sticky stabiliser you just peel away the paper, stick the stabiliser on where you want it, hoop it up and start stitching.
I mostly used split stitch for outlines, back stitch for some details and finished things off with a few French knots. All of it with the full six strands of thread beacuse I wanted the embroidery to stand out. I am never really sure that I am doing these stitches right but if it looks alright, I run with it. So if you are pro and think this is an awful mess, I’m sorry and tell me your secrets! I am learning through trial and error. So if you are also new to this, here are some ‘how to’ videos that I found helpful:
And as you see, I just kept going! I started with the cat outline and then the pot outline. I added some extra stitch lines on the pot area to add some colour and interest. I went back to do the little cat face and the cactus spines. I was basically done but I felt like it wasn’t quite full enough, so I added a few French knots to be sure! About 4-5 hours of studious stitching in front of the TV.
Once I was done with the stitching, I un hooped my work and trimmed away any excess sticky stabiliser. Since my cardigan had that furry texture, it was easy to pull away the stabiliser but if you are working with a smoother fabric, you might not be able to pull much up, which is okay too. The stabiliser is water soluble, so took it to the sink and gently agitated it until the stabiliser was completely gone. I laid the cardigan flat on a towel and rolled it up to gently remove the excess water. And then a bad, bad thing happened…
I planned to use a hair dryer (at a distance) to dry the cardigan off. Normally, I would let it air dry but I wanted to take it with me on a short road trip and I wanted to pack it. Lucky I looked close because then I noticed that the black from the previously unwashed cardigan had bled into my floss! It was looking so bad! I was panicked and didn’t think to snap a pic of it looking bad, the ones above are post washing and you can see the differnce. I have a washer dryer combo that can be pretty rough on clothes but I chucked that sucker in on it’s own with some regular laundry detergent and a couple of colour catcher sheets. A 30 min wash and then a dry. I called my family and we all prayed to the god of threads and good luck. When it came out, the pinks were purpley, the orange less bright and the pale yellow almost chartreuse. But considering how washed in black and patchy and ruined it was, this was a welcome relief! And on the upside, I know it will fair okay being washed and dried. Not to sound like an after school special but wash your garment first and use colour safe threads! And just in case, use a washable fabric marker on your sticky stabiliser.
So I took no pics of it(too traumatised by the colour bleed) but I did get around to changing out the buttons for these little red hearts I had in the stash. If you are the sort of person who read this because you are interested in the how but can’t be bothered, let me tell you that changing the buttons on a cardi can be everything! Anyway, can you believe how cute this turned out? No, it’s not as cool as the Collectif one but it is so me and I know I will wear the life out of it! Even though I am very beginner at embroidery, I really love that you can transform something so basic into something so fun in just an afternoon. I actually enjoy embroidery, even though I’m not into hand stitching garments etc. I think needlework is such a cosy way to keep busy on those cold and dreary winter days. It makes me feel like a frontier lady darning socks, when I’m watching youtube in a second story flat just outside the city! It satifies my old school cool and my need to keep my hands busy. I think I’m going to pick up a couple of cardis (maybe a size smaller?) and attempt something ambitious next time. What do you think on my take on a cactus cardi? Tell me in the comments xxx
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