In my creative space today is a crazy idea. I’m thinking of making a baby sweater for a shower on Saturday. Yes, this Saturday. (I told you it was crazy.)
It also looks incredibly small. So small, in fact, that I dug out one of my daughter’s infant sweaters for comparison. You know what? It is the right size, and my daughter really was that tiny. Oh, my!
pattern: Every Day is a New Sweater Day from Yarny Days. If you are new to her blog, take a moment and look around. Her work is beautiful!
So many knitters are scared of the s-word.* It’s really not that terrible. In fact, I’ve been cutting into sweaters for years to make pillows, scarves and tote bags. You just need to get over the fear that all of the stitches will immediately unravel. Take it from someone who unravels sweaters a lot. It’s not that easy for a sweater to fall apart.
original turtleneck
I’ve been cleaning out my closet and have a lot of beautiful pullover sweaters that I don’t wear anymore. I keep them because the wool is so nice. Sometimes I think I will knit them into something else. I don’t know where I think I’m going to find the time. After my Fair Isle class at knitting retreat, I decided to turn my pullovers into cardigans.
new cardigan
I decided to practice on a thrifted sweater first. I picked a cotton/acrylic blend that was in the donation pile. It had a weird texture — kind of like chenille. Man, was that collar hard to unravel. If you want to practice first, I recommend trying a sweater made out of a nice, simple, plain yarn.
This is a short and sweet tutorial. I assume you understand the anatomy of a knit stitch, know how to pick up stitches and crochet a decorative trim.
Materials:
seam ripper
sharp scissors
sewing machine
crochet hook
Step 1
Remove the seam that attaches the collar to the sweater. Unravel collar yarn and save for later.
Step 2
Find the middle column of stitches. Using a sewing machine, sew a line of stitches two columns to the right and two columns to the left.
Step 3
Carefully cut up the middle column of stitches.
collar removed, stitches sewn and cut
close up of sewn stitches
Step 4
Using the unraveled collar yarn, pick up and single crochet a stitch for each row of stitches. I started at the bottom, worked my way up and around the neck and back down the other side. (Some will tell you to pick up three stitches for every four rows. I say do what feels right, looks good and doesn’t pucker.)
Step 5
Depending on how much yarn you have left, crochet a decorative border. I chose a simple shell edging.
close up of crochet edge
Options
If you want to try this with a crew neck and don’t have enough matching yarn, use a different color or texture to jazz things up. You could also add buttons using chain stitch button holes.
This project is easy once you get over the fear of cutting into knitted stitches. I finished this in two afternoons.
refashion: I’m excited to start wearing some of my favorite wool sweaters again. I’ll be posting my progress as I go. A special thanks to Lynn Anne for giving me the courage to cut!
*s-word is steek!
These flowers and buttons make me so happy! I am just in love with this cardigan refashion.
I found this Talbot’s sweater at a church garage sale. It was in really nice condition. The button bands were even backed with grosgrain ribbon! I knew right away this would be be a summer cardigan and I had everything I needed in my stash.
The original sweater looked kind of sad. The buttons were nice, just too heavy for the knit fabric. (I’ve saved them for another project.)
The tabbed sleeves were a bit much. They needed some brightening and lightening up. This is definitely a case of less is more. Here’s what I did:
This is a fast and easy way to update outdated sweaters. I may even take a look at the sweaters in my closet and see what I can do to brighten them up, too!
refashion: Sweater came from church garage sale. Floral fabric was from my “free” stash. Buttons from a thrift store score.
A few days ago I went to straighten up downstairs for house guests and I found this shirt in the closet. I forgot that my mom had left it for me after her last visit. She wasn’t happy with how the v-neck looked. When I tried it on, I thought the same thing. It didn’t look bad; it just didn’t look great. It was a nice size on me, though. I liked the colors and it’s really soft.
I decided to turn it into a cardigan. I’m always chilly in the summer when I’m inside in the air conditioning. I think this will be perfect to throw over a tank top or short sleeve shirt.
How I Did It
• Made the bias tape out of some black cotton from my stash.
• Removed the buttons.
• Cut a straight line from the v-neck to the bottom.
• Sandwiched the raw edge in the bias tape and pinned.
• Sewed all the way around 1/8 inch from the inside edge of the tape.
• Sewed all the way around 1/8 inch from the outside edge of the tape.
I really like how it turned out. I did an ok job sandwiching the edges in the bias tape. I may fiddle with how I do that in the future. Overall, I think my first wardrobe refashion was a success!
refashion: If you have a shirt that you really like, but it doesn’t fit well, turn it into a cardigan. Cotton for bias tape from my stash, shirt from my mom.