FO: The Drafting Top, Volume Two, Cardi-fied

On Sunday, I woke up and needed to sew.  I had reached a point in my novel-reading where I thought I might disappear into the book, and I knew that another day spent on the sofa with my knitting would only lead to a bad case of carpal tunnel syndrome.

I consulted my List and decided that it was time to try out a cardi-fication of the Drafting Top pattern.

I used just short of two metres of black jersey from Truro Fabrics.  Gorgeous, gorgeous stuff!  This knit lives up to its description as "extra fine":  so soft, so smooth, so drapey!  But oh me, oh my, it attracts dog hair like nothing else I know! 

Pocket piece, back-lit

Stats:
Pattern:  Drafting Top pattern from Jill at ItTerations Workwear.  Size S.
Fabric:  2 metres black extra-fine jersey from Truro Fabrics, £7.99 per metre.
Other:  Black stretch lace, from a pack of remnants bought via Ebay, maybe 50p-worth.
And the inevitable "I am Half Agony Half Hope" label from Scrapiana on Etsy.

Process:
I followed the instructions for the original Drafting Top until it came to the front seam. I sewed the back as usual, then edged the front and neck edges with stretch lace, using an overlock stitch to secure the raw edge of the knit just below the troughs of the lace scallops, and then running another row of stitches along the bottom edge of the lace to stop it rolling back on itself. I stretched the lace round the neck edge, but let it relax down the fronts.
I didn't add a closure.  I might think about that - snap fasteners?

Before application of pockets, hairbrush or lipstick

I was nervous about the pockets. I was worried that three layers of fabric would pucker and warp, and I already knew it was not the sort of stuff to take kindly to un-picking. Initially, I planned to leave the pockets off. But without them, the cardigan fronts were looking strangely bare and unfinished... home-made looking!
So I changed to a tiny zig-zag stitch to attach the pockets. This worked really well: the stitch had the necessary stretch to cope with three layers of knit without getting caught in the feed-dogs.

Verdict?
Yup!  It turned out exactly as I hoped. 
It is, of course, totally impractical for December in the North East of Scotland, when anything thinner than aran-weight wool leaves me shivering.

But luckily I have a good imagination!
Just imagine... wandering around an art gallery on a hot summer's day.  Suddenly you realise that actually it's quite cool in there, and you need a little wisp of lace-edged drapery to take the edge off the air-conditioning.  And obviously it has to be black, because this is an art gallery, people!  So you reach into your bat-chel* and pull out your Drafting Cardi - ta da!  Instant, wrinkle-free cardi-fication!

Now... I have a wonderful photo of The Girl in an Art Gallery to insert here, but she would be mad at me.  So you will just have to imagine it.  Sorry!

And because it is December in NE Scotland, and there is absolutely no light, you actually can't see what the cardi looks like... so you will have to imagine THAT too.

Roo - you are a failure!

*A bat-chel? What else would you call a bat-shaped bag?