Pattern Review: Cozy Wrap Cardigan by Hallå Patterns

The Cozy Wrap Cardigan pattern is a bit of a misnomer here because I did not actually choose to sew the cardigan view. Instead I chose the “Cross Front Sweater” view, which uses all the same pieces, except the bands are crossed at the front and then attached into the side seams. Having just finished my Cashmerette Dartmouth wrap top, I was really drawn to this similar wrap style look.

Hallå has a sew-along group on Facebook that in November was hosting a sew along for this pattern. Since I had never used a Hallå pattern before, I thought this would be a great opportunity to give one a try. There was a discount on this particular pattern, and it was simple to print out the PDF at home and tape together the pieces I needed.

Part of the sew along process is direct access to someone at Hallå to answer questions, so instead of just guessing what I might need to do for a FBA (full bust adjustment), I posted a message on the general sew along thread, along with my measurements, and asked for a recommendation. Erin quickly responded with a starting size suggestion and how to manipulate the pattern to get the extra space exactly where I needed. I started with a size 6/8 at the shoulder and bust area, and then graded to a 10/12 for the waist and hips. I did this on both the side seam, as well as across the wrap neckline (which was a minimal grade). After that, I compared to both my body as well as my paper moulage to find my exact apex (keeping in mind that the Cozy Wrap pattern is for a knit), and then I added 3cm of width only through the bust using one of the FBA methods recommended (tutorial available within the Facebook group).

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Since this technically would be a muslin, though I definitely hoped it would be wearable by participating in the hands-on sew along process, I grabbed some sweater knit fabric that I had gotten from a So Sew English bundle when they were having a sale. I really liked the colors, but being a polyester fabric, it wasn’t my favorite. It is striped, and coming in just a 2 yard cut, I had my work cut out for me to fit all the pattern pieces in a way that the stripes matched. Since I started sewing for myself, I am fairly obsessive about stripe matching. The pattern calls for 2 yards for the cross front sweater view, PLUS .66 yard for the waist band. I actually laid the entire piece of fabric flat, then lay out all the pattern pieces on top. I also got creative to show where some of my mirrored pieces would be.

Many times with patterns, when a piece is called to cut on the fold, I will trace it off and trace the opposite side as well, so that I have only one piece. Especially with striped or patterned fabric, this makes it much easier to make sure I have everything aligned. I did that here with the back. Usually when stripe matching tops, I pick notches, or the armpit area, to align things. This fabric was tricky because the repeat only happened three times in the 2 yards. It also has some large and small stripes, which means if I aligned almost everything, it would be extremely noticeable. It also left zero room for mistakes (like forgetting to flip a pattern piece that needed to be mirrored). I double checked everything multiple times before cutting.

After cutting, the sewing up process was extremely fast and easy, especially using the serger. I did use some scrap fabric to check my differential feed first, since I had not used this type of sweater knit before, and adjusted until the seams lay flat. I LOVE that I did not have to any hems because I attached both waist band and arm cuffs. The only change from the instructions was I added some clear elastic to the shoulder. I have done this before on rayon based t-shirts that I felt would stretch there, and I had the same feeling about this sweater knit. It did not add as nicely as the rayon fabric, but it’s there.

My first try-on of the finished top, I see that the neck back does not lay perfectly flat. I am not sure if that is due to the fabric not having as much vertical stretch as needed, and I should have added a tiny bit of length through the bust, or if it is just a flat piece of folded-over fabric trying to go over a very round area.

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All-in-all, I like it, and I like how much the neck band bunches up around the back of my neck. It is like wearing a scarf without actually having one on and having to deal with it. It does unroll itself in the front a bit like the above picture, which creates a more straight line going from my neck/shoulder across to under my bust. I don’t think adding more space into the bust area would fix this, though, and it would honestly create a different look than the line drawings. I do like how the striped fabric has varying sizes of stripes, because that makes it more difficult to tell when wearing exactly what the look for sure should be. I might attempt a sway back adjustment next time, though I have never done that before. I know I need one, but usually I am so focused on getting the bust to fit, I tend to ignore other fit problems.

I got a bluetooth camera shutter a while ago, and I have still not figured out how to best utilize it. I tried to get the dog to sit in a picture with me, because the sun was in a good spot to illuminate the colors in this fabric well, but he was busy smelling things in the grass. 🤪

Here is the official review I will be posting on Pattern Review:

Pattern Description:
A cardigan pattern with options for an open-front drape, a buttoned mid-line style, a buttoned cross-front, or a closed cross-front sweater.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
Yes, mostly. Hallå does not include tester or other photos with people in them, just line drawings.

Measurements/Size Used:
UB: 34″
B: 40″
W: 33″
H: 41″
Size cut: 6/8 at shoulder and bust, graded to 10/12 at waist and hip.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
I did not have any problems understanding what was to be done.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like this pattern very much. It was easy to understand the instructions, and where to cut for the various options. I also liked how easy it was to get adjusting help from Hallå directly through Facebook.

Fabric Used:
poly blend sweater knit

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Did a FBA of 3cm directly at the apex on the bust line, and closed up the excess width added to the waist/hip area. I also added clear elastic at the shoulder seam, to help support the sweater knit fabric.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I really like this pattern and the way it looks. I want to try both the mid-line style and the draped style.

Conclusion:
I really like the wrap-top style look, and this top is much more cozy than I thought it would be (haha, even though it is in the name). By using a polyester fabric, I did not think I would find myself reaching for it, but the pattern fit is just so comfortable, I have worn this a number of times already since making it at the end of November.

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