Chocolate tie dye cardigan - New Look 6786

I made the cardigan from New Look 6786 as per the pattern, with several minor exceptions.
Firstly I cut the entire cardigan from one fabric, rather than using a contrast fabric for the bands.
Secondly I cut the sleeve bands with the stretch going round the arm rather than the other direction as per the pattern piece and layout diagram. I also left off the belt and buttons and buttonholes

The picture on the hanger is more accurate for the colour, but the picture laid out on the floor shows the garment shape better.

Slightly unhelpfully my living room carpet is also brown!

I wanted to test this before I cut into the sweater knits I really want made into cardigans, and I also did not want to rethread the machines, so I went through the brown fabrics and decided to go with this brown viscose tie dye fabric. I loved this fabric so much I turned out to have bought the same fabric twice, in different places at different times and at different prices. So I was OK with using one of them to test the cardigan pattern, however its a bit thin really and a ponte or sweater knit would definitely be better.

I have a few things I would change for the next version, so here are my observations.

The bands are all different widths and don't feel particuarly substantial. I would probably like them all wider (maybe not the hem band). In comparison to the Blackwood cardigan (which I don't have but I've seen lots of pictures of them made up), the bands are all narrower and the front is a different shape (unsuprisingly).
The sleeves are not full length, and they are very wide at the end. (as you can sort of see in the model photo). In my view the sleeve would be better longer and more tapered towards the wrist. The sleeve bands should be replaced with cuffs which are broader but tighter.
If I am not going to make the buttons and buttonholes, then the curve of the front should be altered.
I made the largest size (an 18) and its quite loose, however this may be needed in a thicker fabric.

I will still wear my tie dye brown version, probably in the summer as a lightweight coverup as its very thin.  On this version, I am wondering about removing the hem bands, tapering the sleeves and adding deep cuffs to bring the length more to my preference.

It needs pressing or the bands somehow topstitching, though I think zigzag stitch would look wrong on this fabric (would be ok on something thicker), straight stitch would stretch out too much and the coverhem might struggle with all the layers at the seams. Unlike a sweater knit it should take the pressing without any problem so I'll try that first.

It was definitely a useful exercise and I can make something I like even better the next time I use this pattern.

I'm not sure whether I will now make a tee shirt out of the rest of the tie dye fabric (and make the belt for the cardigan having decided not to!) or go straight ahead to making the planned cardigans.

Either way I am busy over the next few evenings and the weekend so it will probably be sometime next week.