Quick and Easy: Jalie 2919

This is one of the simplest cardis I've ever made. It's the much-touted Jalie 2919, which was a Patternreview.com Best Pattern of 2010.  I've got to be the last person left on the planet who hasn't made it up--before now, that is.




 The fabric is black slinky from my stash. I sewed it on my Janome 6600 sewing machine first and then finished all the seams to a scant 3/8 inch on my Elna serger.

Here it is, lightened to show more detail. Click to enlarge:

I added fisheye darts to the back to enhance the shape 

Here is a closeup of the pleat detail on the shoulder and the front collar. I lightened it a bit so the pleating shows. The photo enlarges when clicked:

Observations and changes:

1. The cardi is loooong! The hem falls past my mid thigh. There are no markings on the pattern for the shorter length (View A)  as is shown on the pattern front. The length is that shown on View B, the sleeveless version. Click the Jalie pattern picture above and you'll see the difference.
2. The sleeves are loooong! I cut 2 3/4 inches off before inserting the 1 inch hem.
3. The fit is boxy in the back. That's why I added the two fisheye darts.
4. The drape is wonderful. The pleats really add a bit of visual interest to the cardi, and it hangs beautifully. I did not topstitch the pleats as recommended in the pattern instructions.
5. The armholes are nice and high. I love an armhole depth around 7 to 7 1/2 inches, and this cardi has that. I used the Jalie size U (Misses 8).
6. I cut a 3/4 inch seam allowance, trimming to a scant 3/8 inch with the serger. I did this for two reasons. One, slinky can be pretty wiggly and I wanted to have seam allowances that I could grab on to as I assembled the cardi. And b, (as Amy Sedaris says :)  )  I didn't know how closely the cardi would fit.
7. Turns out, I had to shorten the shoulder seam length 1/2 inch and that was the only fit change I made.
8. I inserted the sleeves flat to within 1 inch on either side of the side seam. Then I finished the sleeve in the round, sewing the sleeve seam, then the cardi's side seam, then attaching the sleeve to the cardi's armhole in that 2 inch long unsewn area. This makes the sleeve lie nicely and comfortably in the underarm area while still allowing the easy peasy flat seam method for most of the task.
9. I hemmed the lower edge and sleeve edge using Steam a Seam Lite followed by a beautiful hem using my Janome CoverPro1000CP. I love that machine.

I plan on making this cardi again, sooner than later, so stay tuned. It'll be shorter, though.

Patti asked in the comment section whether I used clear elastic to stay the shoulder seams. I did indeed use clear elastic in the shoulder seams, and also used a fusible bias tape to stay the back neck seam. I used the fusible bias tape there because it follows a curve more easily than does clear elastic. I think it should work just fine. Time will tell. : )