Tilly and the Buttons: Meet the Pearl Wrap Cardigan Sewing Pattern

Today is an exciting day as we get to share our latest sewing pattern with you - squee! Meet the Pearl cardigan sewing pattern, speedy to sew and packed with delicious details and multiple sleeve options.

The great thing about Pearl (and there are many great things) is that versatility is its middle name - you can wear this design with soooo many outfits. Pair with your Jessa jeans or a Bobbi skirt for an elevated casual look, or throw it on over an Indigo dress for ultimate effortlessly-cool vibes. You'll be whipping up a quick Pearl cardigan for every day of the week!

ORDER PEARL HERE

Excited to learn more about the Pearl cardigan? Let's get to it...

THE DESIGN

We designed the Pearl cardigan for knit addicts who love both the comfort of stretch fabrics, and effortlessly cool dressing.

Pearl is cropped at the waist and fastens at the left side with an adjustable tie. It has dropped shoulders, a relaxed fit across the bust and a deep hem band.

Pearls has three (yes, three!) gorgeous sleeve options to choose from. For the chillier months, you can choose between a classic, long, straight sleeve or a statement balloon sleeve, both with cosy cuffs. We've also made a short sleeve version with a cuff, which sits just above the elbow, for you to wear when it's warm.

The best thing about Pearl is that you can make it in so many different fabrics, and wear it with countless outfits, to create vastly different looks. Sew it in patterned or textured jacquard knit for an elevated casual look, a slinky drapey knit for luxe dressing, stretch velvet to wear to a party or stripy french terry with your favourite denim and trainers.

Tilly and the Buttons - Meet the Pearl Wrap Cardigan Sewing Pattern

THE SEWING PATTERN

Our award-winning sewing patterns feature clear instructions with step-by-step colour photos to guide you through the project. The pattern pieces themselves are clearly labelled so you can see which seam is which and how they go together.

Order the printed sewing pattern for sizes UK 6-24 and we'll send you a beautiful package in the post, with a full-colour instruction booklet. Made in the UK, our patterns are printed on durable paper which you can use again and again without it tearing or scrunching up.

As well as our online shop, you can buy them from fabric shops and department stores around the world - check out our list of stockists.

Tilly and the Buttons - Meet the Pearl Wrap Cardigan - Available in sizes UK 6-34

Our PDF pattern is available in a choice of two size bands - either a UK 6-24 or a UK 16-34. You'll get an email in an instant with a PDF to download that you can either print at home on A4 or Letter size paper and stick the sheets together or send the A0 version to a copyshop or pattern printer to print full scale.

Need some guidance using PDF sewing patterns? Fear not! We have a handy blog post with a full tutorial for piecing your pattern together and a list of places to get your pattern printed and sent straight to your door!

SIZING

The Pearl wrap cardigan is available in two size bands - UK 6-24 and UK 16-34, each drafted to different proportions to get the best fit.

If you are a size 16-24, i.e. you fall into both size bands, and aren't sure which one to pick, this blog post guides you through the differences between them. In short, the most noticeable difference in the proportions is that, in the 16-34 band the tummy is slightly fuller and the bust is curvier (a 10cm/4in difference between high bust and full bust, as opposed to 5cm/2in difference).

FABRICS & SUPPLIES

Pearl is perfect for medium-weight, drapey knit fabrics with at least 20% stretch, such as Hacci knit, sweater knit, jacquard knit, stretch velvet, ponte, interlock, lighter weight French terry.

The choice of fabric really informs the silhouette, so you can have a lot of fun here! If you want to show off the balloon sleeves, a knit with slightly more structure such as French Terry, interlock or jacquard knit will do the job nicely, whereas a drapier fabric will result in a softer look.

The great thing about Pearl is you don't need to gather many notions or supplies, leaving you more time to get sewing - yay! We advise you stabilise the neckline (so it doesn't stretch or gape) with iron-on seam tape or strips of interfacing cut 5mm (1/4in) wide. You don't need to worry about using special knit interfacing if you use strips of interfacing - whatever scraps you have lying around in a similar weight to your fabric will do.

If you opt to use iron-on seam tape, it's super easy to apply and is available at loads of haberdasheries and fabric shops in the UK. We used this tape which was very easy to source, use and apply.

TIPS & TUTORIALS

The Pearl wrap cardigan is suitable for confident beginners. If you're feeling a little apprehensive about sewing with stretch fabrics, why not check out our Learn to Sew Jersey Tops and Make Friends with Your Overlocker/Serger online workshops?

Our instructions will hold your hand every step of the way, but if you need a little more guidance we have some additional resources on our dedicated Pearl blog page to help you further. If you think you might need a little more room in the bust, check out our blog post on how to do a full bust adjustment for knit fabrics.

Keep your eyes peeled for Abi's fabric inspiration blog post for making Pearl, a blog post with guidance to common fitting alterations you might want to make to your wrap cardigan and a video all about sewing a neat and secure hem band opening for the waist tie to go through. These will go live over the next few weeks so keep an eye on the Pearl blog page so you're the first to know when they're released!

Ready to take this to the sewing machine? Buy a copy of the Pearl wrap cardigan from our online shop - don't forget to choose the size range option you want.

ORDER PEARL HERE

As always, we always love seeing your makes and progress shots so don't forget to tag us on Instagram @TillyButtons using the hashtag #SewingPearl so we can see what you've made.