Rosy’s Peter Pan Bolero!
I have wanted to make the Peter Pan bolero by Charm Patterns for ages! But always felt that I should go in favour of a more classic cardigan style that would match more of my clothes. I even requested this gorgeous cotton jersey from Felicity’s in order to make a Marlo cardigan (which is a lovely pattern by the way! I’ve already made one and love it) But, then I reminded myself….life is serious enough, especially at the moment! So why play safe? Make the cardigan you REALLY want! Normally, I try to be as practical as possible with resources, in every aspect of my life…whether it’s fabric, food, money or even time. But, sometimes you’ve got to throw practicality to the wind! And if that means making a vintage style bolero, rather than a v neck cardigan, then so be it!
So, let me tell you more about how I made this lovely little jacket/cardigan.
The main body is very simple to construct, as the sleeve is a dolman shape. It’s just two front pieces and a back piece. It’s the facing that is more of a challenge. It’s in 4 pieces; back neck, back waist and two curved pieces for the front. You sew all the facing pieces together and then carefully pin and sew the whole piece all the way round the edge of the bolero. It’s fiddly, especially because you’re sewing with stretch fabric. So, it’s important to keep checking that your fabric edges are lined up, with no puckers, and of course match all the notches! As long as you have done that, then it should work easily and you will have a beautifully finished edge. Finally, you top stitch around the whole facing. Gorgeous! Oh and don’t forget to finish it off with a label of your choice!
The pattern also suggests that you can add embroidery or beading to the collar or even make the collar out of faux fur! All these ideas sound fabulous and I might just have to try one or two of them in the near future! After all…life’s too short for boring clothes!
