When I saw that Rebel and Malice was hosting a "Self Love Sewing Challenge" for the month of February, I immediately knew that I wanted to join in on the fun. I even knew exactly what I would sew.
Cardigan
-Pattern: Love Notions Boyfriend Cardigan, shawl option, side vents omitted, pockets omitted.
Tank:
-Pattern: George and Ginger Tank (free in the facebook group's file section), lengthened to tunic length and with a curved hem instead of the straight hem that comes in the pattern.
-Fabric: White interlock from Joann
Leggings:
-Pattern: Peg Legs by Patterns for Pirates (free with a coupon code if you join the facebook group)
-Fabric: Single Brushed Polyester from Knitpop. I put the brushed part on the inside of the leggings, they are soft against the skin and the outside attracts less lint, win win in my opinion. I think technically the brushed side is the right side of the fabric but sometimes I'm a rule breaker.
And I need to comment on my shoe choice... again, haha. I would not normally wear flip flops with a warm french terry cardigan, but I thought I had grabbed a different pair of shoes to take pictures in. Oh well.
I had actually made the tank and leggings months ago and have worn them a lot already. They are both good basics and go with multiple things in my closet.
The cardigan however, was something I had wanted to sew for a while but kept pushing it back. This self love challenge gave me the push to finally make it, woo hoo! Now I'm kicking myself for waiting so long when this would have been very useful during the colder months.
I had bought the fabric for the leggings and cardigan at the same time and even cut out the fabric for the cardigan the same week the fabric came in. I needed the leggings more, so I made those right away and put the cardigan pieces aside. It's not that I didn't want to make it, it's just that I had lots of other projects that had deadlines. This challenge was nice because it forced me to make something that I really wanted, but kept pushing it off to deal with higher priorities.
I'm very happy that I finally sewed it up, it is so comfy and this is exactly my style.
I do consider this outfit a self love project: When I bought the fabric, it was at a time when we were on a spending freeze and I logically shouldn't have bought it. As the sole income earner of our household, my husband lost his job last spring. The company he was working with shut down unexpectedly without being able to pay him the full amount he was owed. He continued to work, but because of the type of work he does, wasn't able to make any money for a few months. Although he never stopped working, there was a significant time period for which he never saw a dime.
Thankfully, we were able to make it work, and I'm not complaining about our circumstances at the time. But the point is, when I saw this fabric online, it was during the time we were not spending any money other than the bare necessities.
I dismissed the thought of buying this fabric right away, but I couldn't get it out of my head for good. I kept picturing a boyfriend cardigan made in this plaid, and I knew I would get a lot of use out of the leggings.
Finally, I decided to just buy it anyways. I had been working hard at holding down our fort during all the chaos and I hadn't purchased anything for myself in months. I'm not advocating for reckless spending, but sometimes a little self love is ok. And this small purchase was just what I needed. No guilt here.
This is my second Love Notion's boyfriend cardigan and I will do more of a review in a different post. The verdict: I love it, but that's all for now.
In the meantime, I will leave you with a few pictures of my outfit that reminds me that it's ok to do something nice for yourself.
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