Made by a Fabricista: Milo + Citrine

Hello sewing friends! It’s Andrea - @happy.things.here on IG and today I’m on the blog to share some sew inspo on one of my favorite kinds of garments to make – cardigans! I absolutely love making them and wearing them year-round, whether it’s an extra layer for around my house in the winter, as my outermost layer in Spring and Fall, or paired with a dress on a cooler summer evening. I love love love cardigans! And there are so many great cardigan patterns out there – chances are that each of your favorite pattern companies offers multiple cardigan patterns. Button-less cardigans are great beginner patterns, and a handmade cardigan is a lovely personalized gift since it’s more forgiving for fit and you don’t have to know someone’s exact measurements to make one. And you can make them in all sorts of knit fabrics too.

Today I chose two cardigan patterns to share with you that I think bring a little something extra to the table. They are the Seamwork Milo and the Made by Rae Citrine.

First up is the Milo cardigan from Seamwork. I absolutely love this pattern! It’s a go to/tried and true for me.

I made my first one back in winter 2022 and I was so impressed with the fit and quality of instructions. Here’s one I made back then in a purple double knit plaid fabric:

Not bad pattern matching, eh? 😊 This pattern features a button closure front which is comprised of an outer layer and inner facing, and also has a waistband. The instructions are super with helpful images, and for this plaid one, I reach for it again and again for work, travel and casual wear. If you follow me on IG, you’ve seen this sweater a ton! I made my newest version this month with Spring in mind and used a butter soft gorgeous turquoise French terry with this unique coral print. It is the softest French terry I’ve ever used and represents everything I love about Fabric Mart.

I paired this newest Milo with a pair of Apostrophe Patterns My Fit woven joggers in a light blue linen I picked up on sale here a few years back. I think the pieces work well together! One tip on this pattern I would offer: if you are doing buttons, I suggest to do a small piece of interfacing where the button and button hole are placed on the waistband, which I don’t think it mentioned in the instructions. I also suggest to mark the top and bottom of your front neckband pieces because it is easy to get that mixed up during the construction process.

Next up – the Citrine cardigan by Made by Rae, which just released last year:

This cardigan offers something different as far as cardigans go. It’s a cropped fit with raglan sleeves (I don’t think I’ve sewn a raglan cardigan before this one). It has two sleeve and bodice options – regular and balloon. I used a grape tencil sweater knit (also buttery soft!) and I did the regular sleeves and bodice. Rather than add functioning buttons, I added one focal button at the bottom sewn through both sides so it’s more like a pullover sweater. I paired this one with the Petite Stitchery Padget Pleated pants which I sewed up earlier this year in a navy blue pinstripe ponte-like fabric I grabbed on sale here last year. The pants are high waisted so work perfectly with a cropped cardigan:

I can see myself continuing to add more of these cardigans to my wardrobe. Have you sewn either of these patterns and do you love them as much as I do? What are you go to cardigans for Spring?

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed learning about these patterns!

Andrea | @happy.things.here