Hooded Sweater To Cardigan - Tutorial

I have a really great post for you today, a very easy sweater upcycle project I stitched up in just a little over an hour; you have to try this! In the last couple of years I have fallen in love with cardigan sweaters, they are great over blouses, tank tops, dresses, other sweaters and misc. tops.  Lately I have been seeing a number of open knit orange sweaters and thought, wow, I need one of those. Two weeks ago while doing a closet re-org project I came across an orange open knit sweater just like the ones I saw on Pinterest except mine was a pullover with a hood and not a cardigan.  It was a sweater I rarely wore because it just never fit right and drove me nuts because the hood was heavy which pulled the top backwards, it was fairly expensive so I never got rid of it thinking someday I would do something with it.  Off the shelf and out of the closet it came and into the dryer, set on air, to knock out the dust, no need to wash it since I knew it was already clean just dusty.  Once it was dust free it was time to thread my sewing machine and get to work, here is what I did.

This is my pretty orange sweater, an open weave semi cable knit, as you can see it is open enough that I always had to wear something under it or show off all my goodies.  If I made it into a cardigan I would not have to worry about that since it would always have some kind of top or dress under it, problem number one solved.

The first thing I did was run pins down the front of the sweater to indicate where I wanted to stitch and ultimately cut open the top, the pins would be my guide line. I chose the center cable as my cutting and stitching point.

The first thing you should know about working with any kind of open cotton knit is they quickly ravel if you cut them or if you get a hole in them due to their chain stitches.  To prevent that from happening on my sweater I knew I had to stitch down a line of thread on each side of where I wanted to make my center cut.  I could have chosen to just use a straight stitch but I knew a tight zig zag stitch would give extra stability and keep the knit intact when I cut it.  The only drawback is that it does cause the edges to ripple a bit and pucker up; you could try larger straight stitches and see what that does, I may do that next time.

Time to cut hoping I did the right thing, if not I just trashed an expensive sweater.  I chose to put the sweater back on my dress form to keep from accidentally cutting anything other then the front of the top. Once I cut the top it released the tension of the stitches and I got a slight ruffle down each side of the new cardigan. 

I could either leave the slight ruffle down the front or turn it under about half an inch on each side to give it some weight and lessen the wave.  I chose to pin it back and stitch it down for a bit more substance in case I wanted to add buttons.  I was very happy I chose to turn it under and give it a more polished finish, I love how it looks.

Almost all of my cardigans have buttons so I pulled out my rather large button collection to see if I had enough of any one kind of button to use all the way down the front.  Not just any button would do, I did not want brown or tan or white or black, I wanted orange to match the sweater, that way I could wear it with anything and not have them clash with my outfit.  I only found two orange ones so I decided I would put one on each side so I could use a fabric loop to close it if I wanted to.  All done and ready to wear, how cute is that!  I know the sweater will now get lots of use all winter long.  I have one just like it in black I have not been wearing; I think it will get a makeover too, only the black one will have a bit of a romantic twist. I guess you will just have to keep checking in to see what I am going to do to make a hooded sweater more feminine and romantic.

Thanks for letting me share my newest tutorial with you, what a great way to re-purpose an unused item of clothing and stretch a dollar, no shopping needed here for a new cardigan sweater or two.

See you soon.

Laurette

Flowing T-Shirt Vest

I am sorry I have been away from my blog for a little bit, I have been dealing with some medical issues and unable to sit and write at my computer.  Things are still not resolved so today’s post will be a relatively short one with more photos then verbiage.  As most of you know I really enjoy recycling old or unused clothing into newer trendy garments, today I am going to share with you how I took a large men’s t-shirt and made it into a flowing vest I can wear with my turtleneck sweaters this winter.

Can you believe this softly draping vest was made with a regular size large men’s cotton knit shirt? It was so simple it only took about 10 minutes to make without using a sewing machine, anyone can make one of these.  Here’s how I did it.

The first thing I did was to cut up the sides along the seam lines using sharp scissors.  Next I cut around the sleeves removing them completely. Be sure you cut off all the old stitching leaving nice clean edges all around. Last but not least I trimmed around the neck starting at the shoulder, don’t make too big of an opening at first, I had to re-cut mine a little bigger so it would fit around my neck and back, if you cut it too large you may be stuck with a baggy fitting vest.

The back view shows two seams which are the old shoulder seams on the t-shirt, one around the neck and one at the middle of the back or lower depending on how tall you are. The opening is what use to be the neck of the shirt, you basically wear it sideways.  For those of you who are visual you can watch a video clip of how to make one on www.wobisobi.blogspot.com which is what I did before making one myself.  This soft vest was so fun and quick to make I plan to make another one in dark grey to wear this winter, I pilfered the green one from my husband’s collection, with his permission.

Thanks for letting me share my flowing t-shirt vest with you; I hope it inspires you to make some recycled clothing of your own.

Now for some news; we have taken on a new project which will last about a month; we are completely revamping our old toy room. It has been moved around and switched up several times since we moved in, after much thinking and debate over what we want to do with that room we have decided to make it into a permanent playroom for all the grandchildren. There will be several sewing projects, furniture painting and building, a new paint color for the walls and plenty of decorating, all of which I plan to share with you as we go along.  Our goal for the finished room is to have it completed and ready to play in by Thanksgiving, think we can do it??  I hope so or the kids will be driving us all nuts when they have no room to play after dinner.  Keep checking in to see how we do. 

Side note:  Our new grandson is due to arrive anytime now, if I am absent for a while from my blog it will be because we have gone to Los Angeles, California for his birth. (We are both so excited we can not wait to hold him.)  I may ask a guest blogger to take over and share photos of the baby with you or share some of her creative blog posts; we will see what her busy schedule allows.  Until then I will try to post at least once a week depending on how my health is doing and when the baby arrives.  Keep us in your thoughts.

See you very soon.

Laurette

Blue Jean Shorts to Skirt Part - 2

I finally found the time to finish the makeover of the girl’s blue jean shorts into a skirt. This project did not take a lot of time with the exception of the gathering of the two layers of ruffles to fit the new style of the old shorts. Once I had the ruffles ready the rest went very quickly and the skirt was done in no time.  Included in today’s post are the before and after shots and a photo shoot I did with my cute little model, my granddaughter.

Before:

After:

The transformation of the shorts to skirt was much easier then with the pants, just simple cuts up the inner thigh on each leg; carefully cutting through the seam in the center, with old blue jeans the fabric is very thick, a sharp pair of scissors works best.  Next I flattened out the fabric as best I could then cut off the legs to just a little below the zipper leaving enough room to attach the ruffles I made earlier. I was careful to make sure the inside pockets did not get caught up in the seams by pinning them out of the way while sewing on the ruffle. I added some top stitching to the skirt and ruffles to keep them from irritating my granddaughter when she moves around.  I stitched up a narrow fabric belt and tacked it to the back of the skirt at the waistline so the new belt would not become lost in the wash.  I added a few pretty blue buttons to the front of the zipper placket to keep it fun and I was done.  I purchased a new blue shirt to go with the skirt and hand stitched a rick rack bow with a button in the center to tie it into the skirt; the outfit was complete and ready to wear.

Both skirts were upcycled from pants and shorts into bright darling garments ready for their second life in a new form, recycling at its best.

My very happy granddaughter modeling her new outfits, what a cutie!

Thanks for letting me share my upcycling skirt projects with you; I had a great time making them, wait until you see what I can do with a pair of men’s designer jeans, that’s for a later date.  I still have a few easy DIY projects to share with you next so keep watching for those.  I know, I know…, I was supposed to show those today but I was just too excited about finishing the skirts, I had to share those first, thanks for understanding, you will see those next, unless I find a better project to share. (Giggles!!)

See you soon.

Laurette

You might also like:

Girls Pants to Ruffled Skirt

Girls Blue Jean Shorts to Skirt

Sweatshirt to Jeweled Jacket

Sweatpants to Jeweled Skirt

Girls Pants To Ruffled Skirt

Last night I finished the makeover of the worn girls brown pants which I converted to a darling ruffled skirt.  I used the same process as the sweat pants tutorial to eliminate the excess fabric, I cut off the legs, seamed up the middle, then hemmed the brown part of the skirt before cutting, hemming and gathering fabric to make a good size ruffle.  I stitched on the ruffle then added some buttons around the pockets and on the bow; it came out very sweet and will look adorable on my granddaughter.  To complete the outfit I picked out a hot pink t-shirt from my stash and added some buttons to match the ones on the skirt, all ready to wear to school next week, she is going to look very cute as she goes off to kindergarten. (Sniffles, she is growing up way too fast!)

Before

After

This is recycling/upcycling at its best, a great way to stretch the budget when you have to dress two girls.  I am having a wonderful time with clothing makeovers; you can do so much with all the little pieces and leftovers, watch for the next one in a day or so.

See you soon.

Laurette

You may also like:

Girls Pants To Skirt

Sweatshirt To Jeweled Jacket

Sweatpants To Jeweled Skirt 

Coats and Clark 200 Years

This year Coats & Clark thread celebrates its 200^Th Anniversary.  Their story began in 1812 in Paisley Scotland with the conversion of their crippled weaving mills, which once produced luxurious silk shawls, into mills which produced cotton threads.  From there a shortened version of their long history begins with the introduction of a new cotton thread to American women in 1826 by English sailing captains who brought it over from England.  These new threads were then used in the latest women’s fashions all over America.

A soft finished thread was produced by George Clark in 1866 and was the first thread suitable for the sewing machine, revolutionizing the thread industry. George called it “Our New Thread” which became known as O.N.T., a thread many of you still have in your thread collections.

In 2007, as sewing machines became more and more advanced the need for more controlled variables in thread consistency became necessary. The demand was recognized by Coats and Clark who produced a more consistently smooth thread known as Dual Duty XP, which most of us are currently using in our sewing machines, hand stitching and mending. The photo above shows spools from my collection which depicts some of the changes in the labeling and spools as the thread evolved from wooden spools, to golden spools, to white plastic, which is being sold and used today.

Many of us have been stitching with these threads for years not really knowing the history behind such a valued staple in our sewing rooms. I thought I would share just a bit of their history with you and encourage you to go to their website, coatsandclark200years.com, to read the full story. I read a number of different publications who featured stories about the formation of the company over the last 200 years and found each one to be fascinating, the website is the best of the versions.  Along with the story about the company you can also read, “Share Your Stories”, where they invited their customers to write a story about their sewing experiences. I entered one of my stories on June 12, 2012 which you can read by going to my side bar and clicking on the Coats & Clark hot button, it will take you to my story as well as lots and lots of other wonderful sewing stories, give them a read you will have a great time.

Thanks for letting me share the 200^Th Anniversary of Coats & Clark Thread; I really wanted to share it with you for some time now.  Up Next, to honor thread, I will be showing an upcycle sewing project, part 2 of the sweat suit remake, watch for that in a few days, it will be full of how to photos.

See you soon.

Laurette

You might also like:

Sweatshirt To Jeweled Jacket- Tutorial

Bling Those Shoes – Parts 1&2

Sweatshirt To Jeweled Jacket - Tutorial

One of the creative things I like to do is take old or unused clothing and re-purpose them into beautiful new garments or decorative items.  The most recent upcycling project was an olive green sweatshirt which I loved the color of but not the fit, it was brand new and never worn; I kept moving it from house to house thinking I would do something with it someday. After much debate I finally settled on transforming the ordinary sweatshirt into a stunning short jacket for fall.  For those of you who sew, this is a great project you can do with just about any sweater or shirt with just a few tweaks, follow along with my tutorial and you will be all set to make one of your own.

Pictured is the sweatshirt, I am going to makeover, in its original form. The first thing I did was to take my dressmakers chalk and draw a line down the middle of the shirt, measuring from each side to the center until I got it even. Once the line was drawn I cut a nice straight line down the middle to create the jacket opening, all set and ready to stitch up once I finished cutting off all the unnecessary parts.

I really did not like the cuffs on the sleeves due to the fact they were very wide and tight, they were totally uncomfortable. Once I had them measured for the new sleeve length, I cut off the cuffs and began pinning up a new hem.

I moved onto the bottom of the shirt measuring and very carefully cutting off the bottom band of the sweatshirt.  It was a really well made knit band with a fine tight weave which I set aside to use later in an unusual, surprising way.

Note:  I like to do all my cutting and pinning at once, then go to my sewing machine instead of popping up and down every five minutes, it saves a lot of time and moves the project along quickly.

The first thing I did was to start stitching the hem of my new jacket, I decided on three layers of stitching to make it decorative instead of just a simple ¼” seam.  Because the fabric is knit the edges did not need to be folded under or any kind of finishing stitches on the raw edges.  I sewed each set of stitches ¼” apart for a nice uniform look, I chose a double row of stitches for the cuff finish.  Once the bottom hem was completed I moved onto stitching up a small placket down the front of the jacket, just a single row of stitches since I had other plans for the opening.

It was finally time for the neck opening, it took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with it, and I had a lot of ideas which took me forever to settle on one design. As soon as I cut off the band from the bottom of the shirt I knew right away I was going to use it on the neck to change the lines.  I draped it across one shoulder which I liked, then I considered evenly sewing it around the neck and using the long ends to make a self tie or bow, my final choice was to lay it on collar style which felt more like the jacket I originally had in mind.

This was the tricky part, getting the band around the neck without causing a lot of stretching and ruining the shape of the jacket.  I chose to leave the original collar intact in case I wanted to alter it again in the future.  When I removed the banding from the bottom of the shirt I cut about two inches away from the original hem seam so I would have extra fabric to work with, it turned out to be a good choice.  I was able to place the neck edge up against the existing band hem seam and pin it just below the old collar hem, I used a good number of pins to make sure everything stayed in place while I stitched it up. Stitching along the original collar line would allow for the new collar to lay down over the old one concealing it and giving the whole area more stability and no sagging or stretching.  I could have added some stitching in the ditch or other stabilizing stitches but I wanted to be able to remove the collar at some point in time without a lot of fuss.

Before:

After:

My olive green fall jacket it complete with one photo showing it without the jewels running down the front and the second photo showing the gems, I hand sewed into place, sparkling in the light giving the illusion of the crystal jewels being larger then they are and slightly uneven.  I can assure you they are evenly spaced with hook and eye closures just behind the stones.  Plain sweatshirt turned custom trendy jeweled jacket without a trip to the designer showrooms. How much fun is that!

Thanks for letting me share my jeweled jacket makeover, I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and you are inspired to make one of your own.  Did I mention the sweatshirt was part of a set, can you guess what I am going to make out of the poorly fitting sweatpants?  I guess you will have to watch for that makeover to appear in a future post, it is already in progress.

See you soon.

Laurette

You might also like:

Bling Those Shoes – Part 1

Bling Those Shoes – Part 2