Cashmerette’s Carlyle With a Butterfly Collage French Terry

During Cashmerette’s Black Friday sale, I couldn’t resist. I became an “All Access” Cashmerette Club member, for at least a year. Along with other perks, this level lets me get one free monthly pattern and access to all previous club patterns. I knew the first pattern I needed to make was the Carlyle. Of all my years of sewing, I’ve never had a square neckline-never!

The Carlyle

The Carlyle is an elevated version of Cashmerette’s basic tee, The Concord, which I have already made (read all about it HERE) and will make a few times more. In fact, these sleeves are in actuality from the Concord….it’s a long story and I will explain later post.

The Neckline

The square neckline with its 1 1/2 inch band is the star of the show. This is the most important step in the whole construction of the top and I took extra care. I pinned, basted, with extra anchor threads at the corners so things would not move), and then used my regular sewing machine to sew the band into place. Only after those steps, did I finish the edges off with my serger.

Even Cashmerette’s instructions recommend using the regular sewing machine for this step.

The Pattern Fit

If you are not familiar with Cashmerette, their patterns come in two size ranges: 0-16 and 12-32. Within those size ranges there are different blocks, depending on your bust measurement: C/D, E/F, and G/H. It will be necessary to become familiar with Cashmerette’s sizing because it is different (in my opinion better) than usual pattern companies. Then you will need to read the “READ ME” sheet that comes with the pattern to find out which pages you need to print to get your size. With Cashemerette there is no need for “a FBA (full bust adjustment). I love it!

One Fitting Problem

The sleeves of the Concord and the Carlyle are shorter than either my daughter Rachelle or I like and I always need to remember to lengthen them by at least 1 1/2 inches for a full-length sleeve. I forgot this time around, but thought 3/4 sleeves would be fine so didn’t worry about it. In the end, I changed my mind and added bands. I just turned the bands under and cover-stitched them in place and I really like how they turned out. In the future, if I want shorter sleeves, I can always cut them off and refinish them.

Back View

Another Styling

I always like to come up with different ways to even wear a knit top. I did a half-tuck and changed to dressier shoes for something different. It was a bit overcast that day, and the colors really didn’t shine outside, which gave the fabric a more subtle look.

Side View

The Fabric

My fabric is a digital French Terry print knit from Stylemakers Fabrics Fall line. It was love at first sight when I saw Linsey of Inside the Hem’s review of all the new fabric releases.

Unfortunately, this fabric is sold out. I’m getting around to making it up somewhat late, but I can still wear it a bit this Spring and you know I will be wearing it next fall. It is a 55 ” wide Cotton/Spandex French Terry with a 30% stretch.

I looked around on the web, and couldn’t find anyone else who carried this fabric.

A close-up so you can see the beautiful colors in this print. They blend a bit when you see them from a distance. I can get lost in looking at all the butterflies.

This fabric is also Oeko-Tex-Standard 100 Certified. I really didn’t know what that was. After some research, I found that it means that, every component of the product, from the fabric to the thread and accessories, has been rigorously tested against a list of up to 350 toxic chemicals. I’ll be looking for this certification.

It is still pretty cool here, winter is still around. When I put this top on, I really don’t want to take it off. It is so cozy. I’ve decided that I love French Terry.

Finishing It Up and a Bit About Cashmerette All Access Club Membership

That’s all I wanted to say about The Carlyle. Unfortunately, you can only access The Carlyle by being a club member. If you have great patience, waiting for the Black Friday Sale is the most reasonable. It averages out to about $11.25 a month (normally it is $13 a month.) For myself, if I decide to continue my membership, I could possibly go down to the basic for $9, since I have now downloaded all the previous club patterns.

I think Jenny and her team do a great job designing and Cashmerette’s instructions are some of the best around (IMO.) I highly regard them, which is why I was interested in becoming a member of their club.

It’s sad that when I make a club pattern and write about it, no one can just go out and get it. Club patterns are for club members. I looked for a square neck banded tee for a substitute pattern and couldn’t find one. The neckband is something that makes this design special.

The Carlyle is an addition to my everyday wear, which is something I have been working on. It seemed that for a few years, I was only making special occasion clothes, which is nice, but you can’t wear them to go grocery shopping. It’s not that I will stop making special things (I have collected too much gorgeous fabric for that), but it’s nice to make something that is basically an essential garment, which a tee shirt is. (no matter how elevated it is.)

OK, One Last Thing

Here’s the line drawing of the Carlyle, so you can have a better idea of its style. After the mistake of cutting sleeves for my daughter’s Concord (I will write about that one later), I was going to make Style B with the shorter sleeves. But, in the end, I decided I wanted them much longer, ie. the sleeve bands.

That’s it, take care, and see you next time. Hey, and let me know if any of you are Cashmerette Club members and what your experience has been. I am such a newbie.