Mesh Knit Spring Cardi

It's time to highlight another garment made from a lovely Britex fabric! (You can also see my post on the Britex blog.)

Spring has officially sprung! I'm sure everyone, especially those on the east coast, are heaving a collective sigh a relief, yes? I know that my daughter, a San Francisco native who is attending university in Minnesota, is happy to see the thermostat climb.

My spring and summer wardrobe really need some sprucing up, so I was happy to have an opportunity to select a piece of fabric from Britex's Knits page. This Oversized Plaid Stretch Lace beckoned and I followed.

The pattern is one of my TnT (Tried 'n True) tops, Vogue 8951, though I have modified it considerably, as I like to do. (That is the great thing about a pattern—once it fits, you are free to focus on the styling—that's when sewing is really fun!)

I am wearing the cardi over a sleeveless top

This fabric, a printed mesh lace, was quite easy to sew. It reminds me of a crocheted lace, though it is not. The bolt says "100% polyester", but it has more of a cotton-like hand to it. It is not slinky or slippery and is, in fact, fairly stable. I had no trouble cutting, sewing, or pressing it (at a low temp, just in case).

I decided to make a simple cardigan with 3/4 length sleeves. I sewed the entire cardigan wrong sides together so the raw edges were to the outside. I then pressed the seams open and trimmed them to a scant 1/4".

Pins tend to fall out of the mesh fabric, so I used small safety pins to mark the sleeve fronts.

I bound the raw edges, including the outside edges, with 1" strips of black rayon jersey from my bag o' scraps. The jersey was much more slippery and stretchy than the mesh, so I machine sewed the jersey to the cardi with the strips against the feed dogs and the mesh on top. This also makes it easier to stitch in the same line of stitching that secured the seams. I folded the remaining edge of the jersey around the raw edge, turned it under, and hand stitched in place.

Look, ma, no raw edges on the inside!
From the outside. As you can see, the mesh is not super sheer. That "dot" in the center of the picture is not a sun spot, it is my necklace showing through the fabric.

This little cardi will be a welcome addition to my warm-weather wardrobe. The open fabric of the mesh provides coverage for my upper arms, but also allows for air flow. Mesh is very on-trend right now—most any clothing store is featuring mesh garments for spring and summer.

Thanks to mem for taking the photos
And thanks to Britex for the fabric!