Named Saunio

Such an unassuming blog post title for such a little workhorse of a cardigan.

Named Patterns released the Saunio cardigan in their SS14 All Things Nice Collection well over a year ago. I've seen it made up, by the always on-trend and stylish Kirsty of Top Notch, three times, however I never really noticed it, until now. Her third version, and Blogless Anna's, combined with Named's discount code for The Monthly Stitch's separates competition, tipped me over the edge, I wanted one, and I wanted it now.



I was in Spotlight for some thread, when this furry wool blend caught my eye. I had the purple thread for my frocktails skirt in my hand and my eyes were drawn to it, so what was a girl to do but look up the fabric requirements on the Named website and buy 1.2m. Umm, yes.. the fabric requirements do state:

Materials & supplies:

• Fabric 115 – 175 cm / 46 – 69”
• Facing (if other than the main fabric) 70 cm / 28”

I played pattern Tetris and managed to get all the pieces on in a single layer. There are no scraps.

Confession, this is a mock layout before I unfolded the fabric & made it work
on a single layer - am quite glad there was no nap.

I declared my love on Instagram and will do so again here - I adore the overlapping pieces of Named's .pdf layouts. There are 3 sizes nested, each with their own seam allowances and sewing lines charted, and only 12 pieces to tape together - my idea of heaven.

I'm a little bit sad to see that some of the current patterns are no longer overlapped, The cropped jacket Lourdes takes 28 A4 pages ;(, but 'everyone else' can rejoice and buy it with glee.
(The Asaka kimono is still overlapped, at 24 pages... I'll be converting it to copy shop format I think!)

I traced out full pattern pieces (I really prefer to never cut 'on the fold'), and tracing paper is SO much easier to store than taped A4 pages.

seam allowances and sewing lines printed for 3 sizes

I also love that when you buy Named patterns now, you get .pdfs for ALL the sizes (in different files, 2 sizes per file), I've not ventured into the world of Marfy as buying only one size doesn't appeal to me. I'm happy to buy patterns, but I'd like them in all the sizes I may be & not one that I've guessed might be mine. And yes, trying to decide if I'm a 'big' Vogue or a 'small' Vogue annoys me no end - yes, I'm the size smack bang in the middle & have to guess how much ease is in each designers version.

Saunio is a quick and easy little jacket which goes with everything, in fact, I've worn mine every day since making it, over dresses and with jeans and skirts. Yes, I will be making another, I've been quite impressed by how easy it is to wear.
This is a the 'medium' size 38-42 and I'm right in the middle of that range. If you're bigger through the bust or have more muscular forearms, it might be worth leaving larger seam allowances.

I really love how it works both draped and closed. I wasn't sure how it looked closed until I made it, and it crosses both R-L and L-R equally easily. I haven't added any snaps to keep it closed as my fabric grips itself just enough, especially when I have my satchel slung across my body on windy days!

This is a wool blend, it's got no mechanical stretch and has a tight, almost boucle weave to it. I omitted the facing's interfacing and added an extra line of topstitching 1cm from the front edge to give some structure to the edge but not the entire facing. It works well. 
I varied from the instructions when it came to hemming the facing and simply sewed it and the front together, then turned it to the inside before hemming the entire cardigan.

All it needs to be perfect is a little welt or patch pocket, maybe next time...