Sewing

Style Arc Como Cardigan Sew Along Part 2

In last week’s installment of the Como Cardigan Sew Along, I reviewed fabric options and what you would need to make this pattern.

This week, let’s get to sewing!

Quick Sew Along Recap

Seam allowance is 3/8″ or 1 cm and is already included in the pattern.

The pattern has 6 pieces:

  1. Sleeve
  2. Back
  3. Front (and yoke)
  4. Front Band
  5. Back Neck Band
  6. Pocket

For clarity, I will refer to the pieces by both their name and number.

Two tips that will come in handy from last week:

  1. Cut a small notch at the top of the center back on the Back (2) piece.
  2. Cut a double notch on the back of the Sleeve (1) so you can remember the front from back.

Sewing the Como Cardigan

  1. Start with darts! On the Front (3), sew the shoulder dart on both sides.Como Cardigan Sew Along: shoulder dart highlighted with ruler and marking tool
    • On a regular sewing machine, use a narrow zigzag or a “lightning” stitch for this, to allow the seam to stretch if needed. (If you need help choosing a stitch, check out this great explanation from DIBY.)
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: sewn dart
    • Press this up, or towards the back (on a tailor’s ham, if you have one). The top of the front is actually the back of the garment since it’s an all-in-one yoke and front piece. (Note: I’m skipping all decorative topstitching because it will be lost in the ribbing.)
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: arrow showing correct direction to press dart on a tailor ham
  2. Still working with the Front (3), stitch or serge the center back yoke seams together with right sides facing.
    • Be VERY careful which seams you sew together! Make sure it’s the one with the notches, NOT the other one!(Ask me how I know this might happen…)
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: two images showing the incorrect and correct way to sew the back seam
  3. Now we’ll move on to the Pocket (6). There is a nice diagram in the instructions for this. The instructions for this are pretty typical for a patch pocket of this type, so I’ll skip the photo tutorial.
    • Tip: use Wonder Tape to stick the Pocket (6) to the Front (3) at the designated marks. Wonder Tape is double stick tape that won’t gum up your machine when you sew through it.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: pocket with roll of wonder tape
    • Baste the pockets on for now. If they’re in the wrong spot, you can always reposition them later without ripping out teeny tiny stitches! When it’s time to sew them on, use a zigzag or stretch stitch.
  4. Attach the Front (3) to the Back (2) along the yoke, right sides facing.
    • In Part 1, I recommended making a notch at the top of center back on your Back (2) piece.  Now you can match this to the back yoke seam.Como Cardigan Sew Along: attach back piece to yoke, matching center back seam on yoke to notch on back
    • Stitch or serge with a 3/8″ (1 cm) seam allowance. Press the seam down towards the Back (2) piece.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: front and back are now attached, press the seam towards the back piece
  5. Attach the Back Neck Band (5) to each end of the Front Bands (4) right sides facing, matching the notches in the curved ends of each piece.
    Como Cardigan Sew Along: attach back neck band to front bands at curved edges
  6. The Back Neck Band (5) and Front Bands (4) are now one long piece.
    Como Cardigan Sew Along: showing pieces 4 and 5 (neck band and front band) together as one long piece

    • Turn the long band inside out (so the right sides are together) and sew or serge along the short ends of each side at 3/8″ (1 cm) hem allowance. If you sewed, clip the corners so you can get a nice sharp point. If you serged, it should turn out nicely without clipping.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: sew the short ends of the band at 3/8" or 1 cm hem allowance
    • Turn the band right side out and push out the corners so they’re nice and sharp. Press the hem. Your band should now be folded in half with the wrong sides facing.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: band folded in half, right side out, with a crisp corner
    • Tip: baste the long edge together from one hem to the other. This will make it easier to attach to the neckline.
  7. Attach the whole Neck Band (pieces 4 and 5) to the Front (3) with right sides facing.
    • Match the notches of the band (4 and 5) to the notches down each side of the Front (3) opening. The seams between the Back Neck Band (5) and Front Band (4) will match to the shoulder darts on each side.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: match neck band seam to shoulder dart and match notches down front
    • When you get to the bottom of the Front (3), press the hem up so that it matches the length of the band.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: front band is shorter than front of cardigan, fold cardigan up to meet it
    • Stitch or serge the whole thing together with a 3/8″ (1 cm) seam allowance.
  8. Press this seam away from the sleeve band.
    Como Cardigan Sew Along: sleeve band attached to body, arrow pointing away from band
  9. Attach the sleeves to the body with right sides facing. This can seem a little tricky, so pay close attention to the notches.
    • Remember how I suggested clipping 2 notches in the back of the sleeve? This matches up with the yoke seam on the body of the cardigan.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: showing back yoke seam and double notch on sleeve
    • With right sides together, match the Front (3) notch that says “Start Front Sleeve” to the front corner of the sleeve. Match the next notch moving up to the front notch on the sleeve. Continuing around, the yoke seam will line up with the back sleeve notch. The final notch on the Back (2) will be where the sleeve ends.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: all notches illustrated with arrow corresponding to matching side
    • Stitch or serge together with a 3/8″ (1 cm) seam allowance.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: sleeve attached to body
  10. Sew or serge the side seams with right sides facing, using a 3/8″ (1 cm) seam allowance. Start at the hem and work up to the sleeve opening on both sides, in the direction of the arrow.
    Como Cardigan Sew Along: sew the side seam up from the hem to the end of the sleeve
  11. Hem your sleeves and body. Both are 2″ (5 cm).
    • The body hem is 2″ (5 cm) but you should match the hem to whatever it came to when you attached the band to the front (and make sure the hem is even along the entire garment)
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: fold the hem up to the wrong side about 2 inches or 5 centimeters
    • When sewing the hem, begin and end at the front band seam.
      Como Cardigan Sew Along: begin and end hem stitch right at the front band seam
    • Tip: if you don’t have a twin needle, sew the hem with a zigzag stitch.
  12. Give everything a final press. Check to make sure your pockets are where you want and sew them on with a stretch stitch. Enjoy wearing your cardigan!

I hope this photo tutorial was helpful for you! If you have any questions or if anything is unclear, please let me know down in the comments.

And stay tuned for next week when I reveal my full cardigan and review the pattern—I might have a hack!

Pin & Save it for Later
2 images of grey sweater pieces pinned together. One is correct and the other is wrong. Text reads Sewing the Tricky Como Cardigan, Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial. Arrows on each image point to the pins, one asks This way? And the other asks Or That Way?

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Tammy
Tammy
Apr 5, 2019 3:50 pm

Thank you so much for the photo tutorial! I never would have figured out the sleeves if it were not for your helpful instructions.

Janet Atkinson
Janet Atkinson
Feb 5, 2021 10:43 am

I’m so thankful that I found this article, those sleeves were giving me the pip. Thank youthankyouthankyou!

Sarah
Sarah
Oct 22, 2023 10:53 am

I am indebted to your Como Cardigan walk through tutorial. I made this in blue fleece as part of a Halloween costume for my son. It was simple enough with your tips and tricks, and in all honesty, didn’t have to be perfect since it was only going to be worn in a limited capacity. Thanks for the pointers on the back yoke seam. Huge help!

Last edited 5 months ago by Sarah