Sweater Refashion: Cashmere Goes 80s

While we're on the subject of hot pink peplums, it seemed a good time to share this sweater refashion I did at the end of last year. When I was shopping the thrift store for suitable sweaters a couple years ago, I ran across this one. 98% cashmere and hot pink, how could I resist? At first, I planned to keep the neck tie thingy as a neck tie thingy, but move it so that the tie was to the side rather than center. The vaguely sailor-esque thing didn't do anything for me. Then I hit on the idea of using the tie as a waistband and the whole thing came together.

To shape the bodice, I used the popular boatneck top Burda 02-2009-108. I actually refashioned the sweater before making my ruffle shoulder top of the pattern. I had to cut the front with a scooped neck due to the original design of the blouse, so I widened the shoulders about 3/4 of an inch to ensure the blouse didn't fall off.




I also kept the original sleevecap, as I wanted an exaggerated 80s puffed sleeve. It didn't turn out as puffy as I'd hope, but I think it still looks deliberate rather than just poorly eased and installed.




As mentioned, I turned the tie neck into a waistband. The tie was a different weave from the rest of the sweater, ribbed and a little thicker and more stable. Unfortunately, it wasn't woven as a straight piece but had a "bulge" in the middle. I cut it as straight as I could along the "ribs" but it also had a slight curve so that wasn't 100% possible. I gathered the peplums into the lower edge of the waistband.



Several people asked how I handled the neckline without stretching it. In this case, when I cut off the tie I was careful to cut as small as possible along the stitch line. The neckline next to the tie had been reinforced in manufacturing, and so I just needed to treat it carefully to prevent stretching. To finish the neckline, I used a twin needle and was careful while sewing to position the raw edge of the neckline (down along the feed dogs) so the "zig" would be on the neckline and the "zag" would be just off it. I tried to manipulate the photo so you could see the stitching on the outside and inside; click to enlarge.

If your neckline is not finished in manufacturing, it can still be finished nicely! First, finish the edge. I recommend a zigzag over a serged finish unless you are very confident in the differential feed of your serger. If you use the serger, put it on the most gatheringest differential feed setting. Once the finish is done, you must steam steam steam to get the neckline back into shape. The beauty of working with wool is that it should steam back into a reasonable facsimile of a neckline. Once it's back in shape you can fuse it with a strip of tricot interfacing cut on the bias to keep it in shape. Then sew with a twin needle as I showed above.

Note that I don't have a coverstitch machine, so I can't say how coverstitch would perform versus twin needle.


It definitely needs a belt. The 80s styling finally got me to add a length of elastic to this belt buckle purchased from Exquisite Fabrics in Georgetown in October 2009 for $5 (the packaging makes me think it was actually from the 80s). I don't know what took me so long to make this considering it took under 5 minutes to thread the elastic through the bars on the belt and stitch it in place. I've worn it a ton since then, it is too fun!




I bought five or six sweaters to refashion in late 2009 or early 2010 and realized as 2010 was drawing to a close that I hadn't done any refashions yet that winter. When I bought the thrift store sweaters, I went for 100% wool (or cashmere in this case) only. However, I wasn't really thinking about my taste. Most of the sweaters are a thick wool and I don't see myself wearing something that bulky no matter how cute the refashion. So I think I will be doing a re-donate for most of them. However, this thinner texture is perfect for me, not to mention I love the color! The refashion isn't perfect (the waistband area is truly ugly), but with a belt to hide the imperfections it's a great go-to sweater.

All photos are here.

Sweater Refashion: Colorblocked Sweaterdress

Let me begin by discussing terminology. Remaking items into other items goes by many names: remake, refashion, reconstruction, recon, etc. These are all descriptive and your preferred terminology is merely a matter of taste.

But there is now an odious and trendy word that is making the rounds and I would like to do my part to stop it: "upcycling." When I first saw this I thought it was cute. Then I saw it a thousand more times. Then I hated it. First of all, it is overused. A search on Etsy yields 49,422 items (and a few moments later 49,425 items) using the term in some fashion.

And second of all, it is misused. I will buy "upcycling" for taking something that could no longer serve its original purpose and making it into something useful again. But most items that are labeled "upcycled" were actually just fine in their original purpose, but the person saw another use lurking behind that usefulness. Obviously, that's fine--considering the sweaters I used here (although the tan one has stains and a fair number of small holes so it was on the edge of wearable as a sweater) were suitable for their original purpose but I wanted them for something else. But don't give turning one useable item into another a cutesy, vomity, hipster name (and *definitely* don't give turning a useful item into something useless a cutesy, vomity, hipster name).

That is all. I feel better now. Here is my non-upcycled but refashioned colorblocked sweaterdress!



I have been thinking about this refashion for several months! I refashioned a sweaterdress last year, but it is a bit too short and too fancy for work so I wanted something I could wear on an everyday basis. I knew exactly what I wanted and went to the thrift store in November (I think) to get the sweaters. Then the color of my serger was never right and the project got back burnered. Luckily, PatternReview announced a Refashion Challenge for January 1-15, 2010. Perfect!

I purchased the largest sweaters I could find in the colorways I was looking for with mostly wool content. When I am buying sweaters at the thrift store I am a fiber snob! The thing to remember is that no matter how big a sweater seems, there is always less fabric there than you think.

Here's how you do it(there are larger individual photos of each step in the flickr album):



I started with the red sweater. First I cut off the turtleneck and ribbed bottom. Then I cut up the side seams and resized it to fit me.

My brilliant flash with this was to scoop out the front neckline and ease the ribbed bottom of the sweater as the new neckline. I hoped it would make a cowl, but it makes more of a portrait neckline. Had I felt more confident about how long the sweater would end up after I had altered the sides I would have cut more length off with the ribbing (as it was I cut just one inch above the ribbing to have a seam allowance), which might have yielded me a cowl, but I didn't know how much it would shrink when it was more fitted.

I had already used the body of the blue sweater to make another pair of wool knickers to wear under skirts in winter. This is seriously one of the best ideas I've ever had. I wore pants on Monday for the first time since last year (I wear them maybe 5 times per year on the coldest days). If it's above freezing, the wool knickers and knee high boots are enough to allow me to wear a skirt.

I took the sleeve of the blue sweater, cut open the seam, chopped off the sleeve head, and cut a 5 inch wide strip from each sleeve.

I determined where I wanted the midriff to be placed, then cut off the red sweater to that length and sewed the midriff in place, lining with a strip of lycra knit fabric for stability as I don't want the midriff to bag out. I should have done a better job shaping the bodice before stitching on the midriff because I should have made a reverse saddle shape, with the bodice cut higher at center front and center back than at the sides, because it dips a little in front and back.

Next, I chopped off the arms and neck of the tan sweater and opened out the shoulders. I checked the length with the bodice midriff and cut a few inches off the shoulder edge, then stitched up the side seams.

I wanted a tulip shape to the skirt, so I used my dress form to figure out where I wanted the pleats to be on front and back. I decided to an inverted pleat type thing in the front, while the pleats in the back face outward.

Then I sewed the skirt in place and was done! All photos are here and the pattern review is here.




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When I came up for the idea for this project I was concerned that colorblocking was too early 90s, but it is one of those things that comes in and out of fashion rather quickly, apparently. My colors here might be a little too classic early 90s, but the silhouette is current so I think I'm ok. I found a few fun examples of current colorblocking to assure myself that I wasn't going to be stodgy and behind the times!









I love these two yellow/black/white combos from Ali Ro. Yellow is such a great color but so hard to wear and having pops of yellow that can be kept away from the face is an excellent use of it.























I also love this more traditional Milly colorblock dress in unconventional colors. Orange is another underused color that's hard to wear but great for an accent. And of course, there is the classic t-shirt dress with the bodice in a contrast color. You could work some magic with BWOF 02-2009-119; I loved this pattern when I did it in an allover print.

Sweater Refashion: A Hole New Look

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! I was in Texas last week visiting my family. I missed DC's big snow (boo) but experienced the biggest snow"storm" that I've seen in Texas, which was fun. My nephews thought it was a blizzard. It was nice to see family, but I am very happy to be home!!!!

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I bought this sweater last year when I was gathering materials for sweater refashioning. I debated about it because it is an XS, so there was not enough fabric there to cut down into anything else. However, it was so nice I couldn't leave it there and just wore it as is. It is a really soft lambswool, and the sleeve and sides are straight rather than having a dated cuffed look at the bottom.

It wasn't until the second time I'd worn it that I got home from work and realized one of the elbows was worn through! I am guessing that's why the previous owner donated it to the thrift store, because it was a well cared for sweater. On the one hand, I thought it was kind of rude to donate a holey sweater to the thrift store. On the other hand, I was so I glad I happened to be the one who picked it up! Because there is no need to throw away a sweater that is otherwise in good shape just because of one little hole and now the sweater has a new life.






The first step was to cut off both sleeves at the hole. The other side wasn't worn all the way through, but it was definitely thinner at the elbow.

Next, I went in my stash and found some gray wool jersey (Nikki so kindly gave it to me ages ago and it has come in handy many times!). I cut out rectangles for the sleeve puffs, each at 22 inches by 12 inches. Then stitch the short edges together. If you don't have wool jersey, you can use cotton or rayon.

I put strips of tulle inside the sleeve puffs before folding them in half to keep them poofy. For additional poofiness I also followed the technique in BWOF's balloon skirt dress 10-2008-117 of twisting the balloon when folding it in half, so that the side seam is offset rather than matched up.

Next you put in your double row of gathering thread, pin the gathered puffs to the sleeve edge, and stitch in place.


This was all well and good, but because my sleeve puffs were a lighter gray than the rest of the sweater I needed to bring the jersey in another way so it didn't look like a non-sequitor. Also, the fancy sleeves needed a little added fanciness. I have been enjoying the crazy feminine ruffles that Ruffles and Stuff and My Mama Made It are into lately, so I decided to go with that. I can't find the exact tutorial I used, but here is one for a rose made of strips of jersey fabric. My fabric strips are one inch wide, and rather than machine stitching I hand-stitched (I thought I could do it on a long car ride at Thanksgiving, but it made me carsick). I didn't gather the ruffles, but made them "ruffley" by twisting and looping them.

I finished it off with a layer of gathered tulle on top of the rose to emphasize it, and a few sew on jewels I had purchased in Hong Kong. Despite my best efforts that the jewels be random, they are in fact quite evenly distributed. *sigh* I am completely incapable of asymmetry.

After I'd sewn on the jewels, I wasn't sure if I loved them. I can't tell if they are Eighties or Aughties. The 80s sweater is from Leslie Hall's Gallery of Glamore gem sweaters project; it is awesome and if you've never seen it you must go check it out. The current embellished top is from J. Crew.



All photos of this project are here.

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I love sweater refashion, as you may be able to tell, so I check out the web for project ideas. Here are the most recent ones I've found.

This is such a clever way to get a drapey front cardigan. The result is almost like an overdress and would be great to winterize a sleeveless LBD.

I like this cardigan idea with the inset fabric at the waist.

There are tons of refashion ideas on the Craft blog (although not limited to clothing). There are *hours* of entertainment to be found at the Wardrobe Refashion blog, which is mostly clothes and a fair number of sweaters (although unfortunately the posters don't generally use tags so you have to wade through some introductory and other miscellaneous non-project posts).

PatternReview just announced a quick challenge for the first two weeks of January and it's...refashion! I have another sweater project in the hopper, so I just have to wait a few more days to start!

Worn Out Sweater to Hat

So this sweater came not from a thrift store but from my closet. I got it three or four years ago from H&M, an angora and nylon blend. I loved the color and the fuzziness and wore it absolutely to death. Finally this year I had to acknowledge that it was pilled beyond wear, but I still wasn't ready to give it up. I decided it was perfect for a hat. I washed it in hot and dried it in the dryer to tighten up the weave. The "before" pic on the right was taken *after* that step--I wasn't wearing it around with my belly showing.

Book Review

Cidell gave me the book Saturday Night Hat on extended loan when I first become obsessed with hats on the condition that I review it, so here goes.

The first thing you have to do is not hate the author. If her introduction is to be believed, she was one year out of college and unemployed and stopped into a fancy boutique wearing one of her hats. By the end of the month, Barney's had placed an order for her line. She talks a fair amount in the book about how she could neeeeevvvver have a real job like a regular person. While I don't (necessarily) begrudge her success at the age of 22 or whatever, I find the whole "I'm so special and artistic! I can't live like the rest of you peons!" thing pretty irritating.

But the point of the book is not Eugenia Kim (luckily), the point of the book is hat projects. The focus of the book is mostly sewn hats, with some projects that are just embellishing a purchased hat; there is no information on blocking. There are patterns for a nice variety of projects--cocktail hat, baseball cap, engineer cap, sun hat, cloche, and newsboy plus instructions for drafting your own beret and pillbox. In addition, there are embellishment projects for pre-made cloches and fedoras.

A weakness in the instructions is her information on how to size for your head. Rather than, say, shrink or enlarge the pattern on a copy machine in proportion to the difference between the pattern (drafted for a women's medium 23" head) and your own size or use other pattern-scaling methods, she tells you to make the project as is and then use an iron to steam shrink or stretch the finished product. Huh? I find it much easier to do some simple math--my 21.5 inch head is 93% of a medium 23 inch head (21.5 divided by 23), so I copied the pattern on a copy machine at 93%.

Many of her decoration ideas are very clever and the instructions are well-detailed with accompanying illustrations. There is also some basic information on things like the type of feathers used in millinery and other supplies. In enjoyed reading the book and I'm sure the ideas will be percolating in my brain for a while.

This Project

So, I had this sweater. It wanted to be a hat. What kind of hat? Although I am way, way late to the party (3 or 4 years) I really liked the newsboy hat project. After I made the hat I started paying more attention on the street and while the newsboy may or may not be out of high fashion, it is still going strong in street fashion so I don't feel out of place wearing my hat.

The instructions in the book are pretty good, though they result in a pretty unfinished interior, which is not generally my style. You make the crown and the lining and then sew them to the band as one. The raw edge of the bill is added to the mix. The whole mess is covered with grosgrain ribbon. I wasn't in the mood to figure out a neater way to finish all this (which would be to hand sew the lining down over the seam) so I just followed the instructions.

She recommends buckram or cardboard to reinforce the brim, but I used my standby shaper, plastic needlepoint canvas. I placed the pattern underneath the canvas; luckily the pattern has both a cutting line and a seam line marked. I traced along the seam line using a highlighter, cut out the brim, and covered the edges with duct tape to soften them as seen at left. I should have blunted the corners, and will probably need to open out the seam the cut them off at some point. Next time, though, I'll probably use a couple layers of buckram so the bill can be curved more. Cardboard is just asking for trouble because the hat will be ruined the first time it gets wet.

This hat is very fun on the inside. When thinking about linings I decided one of my tie silks from Fabric Mart that I split with Cidell (they still have some tie silk bundles) would be perfect. Silk is quite warm, and I wanted this to be a functional hat. It is also pretty and easy on the hair. I used the leftovers of some colorful ribbon to line the hat band. Indeed, this turned out to be much warmer than I expected and I've worn it on very cold days with no trouble.

Although I'm not sure this hat is *quite* the fashionable shape, I really like it. As shown on the on the model in the book it is perfect, but if you really look at the picture you see the hat is only barely sitting on the top of her head, and that's the only reason the crown poofs out as it does. When pulled over the ears (necessary for warmth!), it's not as full and almost has a rasta hat vibe. Of course, the difference in texture between my sweater and a traditional tweedy wool has something to do with it as well. Next time, though, I will try to build in a little more fullness. I have seen a few berets that are basically a newsboy without a brim and would like to try that--I don't usually wear hats with brims unless I need sun protection because I am so short that I can't see anything out from under them!

All photos are here and the pattern review is here. This will be my entry in the Reconstruction/Recycling/Refashion Contest on PR--I was eager to do the project but I made myself wait until January 1 so I'd be eligible to enter! I will write more about the coat, but I had to do this review before the end of the month to enter the contest.

Oversized Sweater to Sweaterdress

So I have been wanting a sweaterdress for ages, but after my bathrobe attack disaster I feared the sweaterknit. This season the sweaterdress is *everywhere* and I really wanted in on the trend. When I went on my thrift store sweater-buying melee this sweater did not fit my 100% wool criterion (it is nylon, angora, and metallic) but I am drawn to all things shiny and soft and I had to have it.

When I got it home and tried it on I thought maybe, just maybe, I had found my sweaterdress. I decided it would be perfect for New Year's Eve, casual yet cute, sparkly yet tasteful, so I took scissors to it when I got back in town from visiting family for the holiday.

You need a sweater that is many sizes too big for you for this project. I really don't know what my RTW size is, but I'm guesstimating that this sweater was about 6 sizes too large (I'm probably around a RTW 4 and this was an 18/20). For a sweater that is only a little too big, you can take it in by sewing into the sleeves and side seam as one, but for something that is much too big you have to take off the sleeves. I also cut out the shoulderpads--given the price of shoulderpads that alone paid for the sweater!

After you've cut off the sleeves, try it on mark with pins 1) the new bottom of the armscye, and 2) how much to take in the side seams. I considered making this just a body hugging t-shirt dress style, but I am just too self-conscious of my belly so I didn't tighten it all the way at the side seams, leaving room for the center pleats I would add later.



Once you have sewn the new side seams, put it back on and mark the shoulder edge. Trim away the excess. This sweater had been constructed with twill tape to stabilize the shoulders. If yours isn't, you might want to add some shoulder stabilization here. I should also note that as soon as I made any cuts I immediately took it to the serger and finished the edges to prevent unravelling and too much stretching.



At the same time you're trying on to mark the shoulders (and if you want a short sleeved dress, the oversized shoulders turn into a cute cap sleeve), pin out your center pleats. I did three inverted pleats at center front right under the bust for an empire look. I sewed them down about two inches long on the inside.

Now it's time to get back to the sleeves. You're going to turn them upside down so that the larger armscye becomes the lower hem of the bell sleeve. I sewed the elastic casing by hand because the ease situation would have been a pain on the sewing machine. When I first tried on the sweater I was sure I'd have to shorten the sleeves, but in fact once I had fitted the sweater and shortened the shoulder they were only just barely long enough.

Cut the wrist edge into the rough shape of an armscye. I didn't worry about being too precise here because the sweaterknit stretches and I knew I could ease the sleeve into the armhole. I did pull the sleeve onto my arm up to the shoulder to make sure that it was about the right size. My sleeve was tapered at the wrist; if yours is not you might need to take it in a little to fit in the armscye. Set in your sleeves and thread elastic through the lower casings; you'll need a longer piece of elastic than you think because the sweaterknit adds a lot of bulk to the casing.



I could have stopped there, but I am just not a fan of the crew neck. This is not for the faint of heart because you're going to have a wiiiiiide neckline once you cut off the original finished neck edge, there is no way around it. First I cut off the collar as narrowly as possible and immediately rushed to the serger to finish the edge. Then I stabilized the edge by twin-needling over clear elastic, stretching the elastic slightly to take up as much of the neckline as I could. Then I squared off the neckline by hand-gathering at a diagonal from the neckline toward the shoulder.



And voila! This isn't a super-quick project; it probably took me about four hours all told. So allow enough time for yourself. I put a decorative pin over the center pleats to emphasize the empire shape; it's not functional. I am so happy finally to have a sweaterdress! Especially for under $5!!!

All photos are here.

Sweater to Cuter Sweater

More sweaters! When I ran across this one I *loved* the color and the silk/cashmere fiber content. It was only slightly too large for me so I couldn't dramatically remake it into anything else, but the boxy shape was not flattering and it had the inevitable turtleneck.

I wanted to do something to embellish it a little and make it more interesting without detracting from the gorgeous color and making it too fussy to wear often. I started by cutting off the turtleneck. Luckily, because of the way it had been manufactured I cut along the line between the finished neck and the ribbing and didn't have to do any finishing to it at all. Then I fitted it by taking in the side seams and adding darts in the back--because of my round belly/swayback shape back darts are generally the best way to define my waist.

Now it was time to embellish! My first plan was to do a bib with ruffles at the side, something along the lines of this, but then I decided that was a little too fussy and decided to go with straight ruffles. The fabric is an olive/bronze silk dupioni from stash (same fabric used for the underside of the cuffs and collar on my Butterick 4985 blouse).

This was very easy to do! First I put on the sweater and marked where I wanted the ruffles to start and end. The middle ruffle ends right about the lower center front edge of my bra, and I arranged the side ruffles so as *not* to end at the, ahem, bust apex.

Next, I cut strips of fabric 2 1/2 inches wide and about two and a half times as long as the final ruffle length, serged the edges, and turned under in a narrow hem.

I put single rows of gathering stitches in the centers of the ruffles, pinned the bottom in place, and gathered. I used the selvage for the bottom edges of the ruffles, and folded the top edges over the neck. I sewed these down with a narrow straight stitch. The hardest part is making sure that the edges of your ruffle haven't curled into your stitch line. Lots of pins are needed!

Now it was time to deal with the sleeves. I've been having a thing about sleeves the past several months. I just cannot have plain boring sleeves. I don't know why they're bothering me so much! These sleeves were too long so I couldn't leave them as is. I wasn't inspired by the thought of just shortening them. Finally I hit on the idea of echoing the front ruffles at the sleeves.

I marked the ruffle placement and pinned in place. I found my seam roll pressing ham invaluable for this task, but for those who don't a paper towel tube will work splendidly. I tried to gather the sleeve simultaneously with sewing on the ruffle by just bunching up the fabric but this worked only moderately well. I should have gathered the sleeve first, then sewed on the ruffle. I ended up going in and stabilizing the sleeve gathers by hand-sewing them to pieces of grosgrain ribbon.

I love my new top! I debated whether pairing it with the skirt for sweater-on-sweater was too incestuous, but decided I liked them together and this is what I wore on Tuesday.

Here's the photoset.





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Oh, and I have to clarify my review number! I am only hoping to get to 100 reviews as a cumulative total since I posted my first review in May 2006, not 100 for the year. That would be impressive! But I am not that impressive. I'll only end up with somewhere in the neighborhood of 35 reviews for the year, assuming I finish out my goal. Much more modest!

Sweater to Skirt

So when I had my sweater buying orgy at the thrift store last month my main criteria were (1) 100% wool and (2) not ugly. I didn't stick to them entirely, but this sweater fit both the requirements. The quality of the wool was high and I loved the subtle tweed print. When I got home it went into a hot washer and the dryer to felt. When it came out it had shrunk by about 1/3 and was a nice thick fabric. The Second Time Cool book referenced in this post had recommended turning a sweater into a skirt by turning it upside down and using the lower ribbing as the waist. I liked the look of the lower ribbing way too much to hide it at the waist so I used it as the hem.

The skirt was so easy that I didn't think to take any pictures in process. I cut off the sleeves and neckline and then cut across the shoulders under the neckline so it was straight. Most of the side seams are just the original, and at the armscye slit I shaped the seams to fit my hips, as seen here. I further shaped the waist by making darts in the back, as seen at left. Because the felted wool is so thick you absolutely must cut them open and press them down. Luckily, felted wool will not ravel so there's no danger of your skirt falling apart.

I had to do something to stabilize the waist so I found a coordinating fabric in my stash, cut a strip 5 inches wide, folded in half wrong side together, and serged it on to the waist. I pressed the seam as flat as I could upward, then folded the strip down over the seam allowance and hand-stitched in place. The thick felted wool doesn't show the stitching so it was really easy. The waist is way more bulky than I would like but I'm not sure what a better solution is (except to use the ribbing, which doesn't felt the way the rest of it does). I could use a wide jersey waistband, but that would just transfer the sweater bulk line to my hip, which wouldn't do me any good either. I hand-stitched the zipper in, butting the raw edges of the former armscye seam together. Again, no need to finish felted wool! It would have been too bulky to turn the edges under.

And voila! This was an incredibly easy project that could be done by someone without a sewing machine and the skirt is both warm and cute. My cost was probably around $5 for the sweater and the zipper.

Sweater + Ottobre Woman = Wool Knickers

So I went to the thrift store a while back (I have no concept of time right now with all the travel) and bought a bunch of sweaters to chop up for sweater recon and refashion. Like a lot. Like way too many. I was in some sort of sweater buying haze. I don't know what I'm going to do with them all.

I bought this one because it was a men's XL so there was plenty of fabric to work with, it was a really soft merino wool, and it was a light color that should dye well if I ever want to try dyeing. As a sweater, it has no redeeming features. Not only did it have some (light) stains and several moth holes, it is hideous! That tight hip band is not going to be kind to anyone's figure. (In this photo you can see the bump I gave myself on the forehead with my ill-advised shelf-moving technique. I finally put up the last shelf on Sunday and moved the last of the Carol Collection out of my living room and into the sewing room.)

I threw this one in the wash to felt and it didn't (although the holes became more prominent), it remained a soft, lightweight knit but it was surprisingly warm when I put it on for the photo. I finally hit upon the perfect use for it. I hate having to give up wearing skirts when it gets cold and was trying to think of a solution. Making a warm slip really wouldn't do any good because as Carolyn experienced the other day wind goes right up your skirt! Then I thought of some wool knickers, and this sweater was absolutely perfect--lightweight, warm, washable without felting, and plenty of it. I was going to have to draft the pattern, which would be pretty simple but I just hadn't had the time or inclination to do it yet.

One of the things Karen loaned me is an Ottobre Woman from Spring/Summer 2008. I liked several of the items but what I was immediately thrilled about were the fitted knit exercise pants, #15.



Based on a quick glance at the picture I knew they'd be a perfect fit because I thought the line drawings were a front and back view, and that the back view showed a really curvy bum. Only when I looked closer did I realize that the "curvy bum" was actually a front view maternity bump. LOL. So I didn't know how the bum would fit, but stretch patterns are very forgiving and that's why I love 'em.

I had to wear pants to work on Monday and it was horrible. One of my co-workers came to my office and said, "I'm sorry I can't stop staring at you, I've just never seen you in pants." Hee. This is not exactly true because at some point every winter I devolve into pants and am like a bird that has lost its plumage, all sad and droopy, until Spring comes again.

My serger was already threaded in cream so I tackled the knickers on Monday night. So far I haven't really gotten the hang of timing my projects so I don't have to change serger thread with each one. I'm on a roll now, though. I had it in cream to make Simplicity 3775 out of the G Street plaid knit, then I did these knickers. Next up will finally be the Butterick 4589 off-white silk pinstripe blouse from the professional wardrobe plan I posted a while back. And after that a BWOF blouse in the silk print leftover from Vogue 2858. Then I'll change the thread color. At least this is the plan. We know how good I am with plans.

The pattern was quick to put together, just an inseam and a crotch seam. I made them long enough to go over my knees so that for really cold days I can wear them long to keep my joints warm, like the traditional poodle haircut with fluffy balls of hair where he needs to be most warm (I had no idea that haircut was utilitarian until a poodle-owning friend explained it to me). As an aside, yesterday was officially the last day for that epic fail of a skirt, Vogue 8037. What a horrible pattern. I kept the skirt because I love the colors, but it is lumpy and bumpy and generally hideous and I am totally over it.

To get more length in the leg I cut sections off the sleeves and seamed them in. I used the turtleneck ribbing for the bottom of the legs, and the hip ribbing as the waistband. The fit was actually quite good on a size 38 right from the pattern sheet, I just had to take the CB seam in a little bit at the top for a swayback.

I really need to figure out how to dye them gray, as they look terrible in this light color. I was trying to get a shot of them and could only think of that line in Bridget Jones where she says, "Have bottom the size of Brazil" and an acre of cream fabric over said bottom doesn't help. There will be no closeups. (I'm not fishing for compliments here. The shot on the right is very flattering and I like it, but the other ones I took were horrifying and immediately deleted.)

Turn That Sweater Upside Down

Someone on PR posted a link to this Craftster tutorial by MrsBowles for making something wearable out of a traditional Stay Puft Marshmallow Man shaped sweater that balloons over the torso and arms and snugs at the wrists and hips with ribbing. My interest was immediately piqued, and I went to the Goodwill the next time I could use my neighbor's car (we have a car-sharing arrangement where he parks in my parking space and I get to use his car once a month).

I guess everyone else has figured out that this style is not flattering, because there were virtually none of them at the Goodwill! I actually don't like the Goodwills in the DC area much because they're too nice. This sounds ridiculous, but the point of Goodwill is the thrill of the hunt. The ones here don't have much on the racks, and everything they have out is pretty current and good quality. Whither the funky vintage? Why no crazy bedclothes that can be made into fun skirts? I find the prices still reasonable and I'm happy to pay them, but others feel that $5 is too much for a sweater. I don't know of any crappier thrift stores in the area, though there must be some.

Anyway, I found a really nice grey lambswool Gap sweater that, upon getting home, I realized was great as is and just too nice to cut up. And this.



I hate turtlenecks. My collarbones are one of my nicer features and I like to show them off; plus, I feel all choke-y in turtlenecks. It has the requisite balloon-y shape and ribbing at the cuffs and hip. But it was great raw material--I love the colors, and it's 100% wool and had been well cared for.

It's best to start with a sweater at least two sizes too large for you. Even bigger is even better, because then you can felt it before starting the project and you won't have to worry about raveling. This was only about a half size too large and was almost too short as is, so I knew I'd need to adapt MrsBowles' tutorial by adding in a midriff band to give me more length. I went through my stash and the best match was some grey wool jersey. It's just luck that this was wool; any jersey will work, though it needs to be a medium or heavy weight to stand up to the sweater.

The basic premise of this refashion is to make an empire line, bell sleeved sweater by turning the lower halves of the sweater and sleeves upside down. Simple yet brilliant. Doing this on a striped sweater made it super easy to cut apart, I just had to choose a stripe and follow it. You'll want to cut about three inches under your bustline (I cut about an inch too high), and two to three inches above the elbow (I cut about 3 inches to high). I immediately finished all the edges with the serger so there would still be some sweater left to sew back together! I'm still working on optimizing the differential feed to allow stretch but not actually *be* stretched.

Once your edges are secured, it's time to make the V front. First, find and cut up the center, then cut your V opening.



Again, secure your edges with the serger (or a zigzag stitch). If your sweater is a loose gauge as mine was, it might be smart to stabilize your neckline with twill tape or grosgrain ribbon or something. I didn't, so after it was done I took some yarn and wove it into the neckline just outside the ruffle, tightened the neckline a little, and tied off the yarn.

Now it's time to make the ruffle. My ruffle was three inches wide and about twice as long as my V neck opening. This might have been a little too much ruffle. I finished the edges with a contrasting thread color just for fun (and also because I didn't have a matching thread color), and cheated on the gathering by using only a single basting stich.

To sew the ruffle to the neckline, underlap the ruffle. You're sewing right side to right side, but you're not lining up the edges and sewing as with a normal seam. You're just overlapping the edges kind of like you were shuffling cards. Sew with the sweater side up, as close as possible to the edge of the sweater. Here's what the underside looks like.

Now cut out your midriff band. Mine was five inches wide (including the half inch seam allowances) because I have a ridiculously long torso for being so short and I wanted the sweater to comfortably reach the top of my hips so there'd be no danger of showing my belly when I lift my arms. Sew the side seam so that it fits comfortably but not too tight (2 inches of ease or so). Put on the top part of your sweater and overlap the V neck edges so that the fit is good, pin and baste. Not that I ever baste. Then pin your midriff band and sew. Here's the overlapping V:



I found it best to sew with the sweater on the bottom so the feed dogs would help me ease it in. A loose weave sweater like this requires a lot of easing.

Now try on your upside down lower half of the sweater and take in the sides if needed. I had to take in the ribbed edge about an inch and a half on each side, tapering to nothing at the bottom to give plenty of room for my hips. I did this seam with the serger, but probably should have used the sewing machine as the seam stretched like crazy and I have little points at the side. Once it fits, sew the lower half to the midriff band.

For the sleeves, it's basically the same thing. Gather the edge of the upper sleeve (hard to do! It ended up more like easing), sew to sleeve band (add plenty of ease in sleeve band--the bulky seams will make it much tighter than you think), turn lower cuff upside down and sew to other edge of sleeve band. This is where, again, it would have been better to have a bigger sweater, so the puff was more obvious.

And voila! It took me about 2 1/2 hours because I had to mess around with things a bit.



I felt like I needed to bring the turquoise overlocking into the rest of the sweater, so I made a little belt for the midriff, but actually I think it looks fine without the belt, which is how I wore it yesterday. All photos from this project are here.



I am now obsessed with sweater recon/sweater reconstruction/sweater refashion/whatever you'd like to call it. When I went to the Crafty Bastards craft fair in the summer there was one girl, The Devil Made Me Do It, who had done *amazing* clothes out of felted thrifted sweaters, but that kind of thing just doesn't come naturally to me so I have to use tutorials. Sad. I'm going to try to get Second Time Cool from the library, and I also searched online. My google searching didn't come up with a whole lot of ideas, but there were a few.

Sarah in NYC did an article for PR on refashioning sweaters last year; as a result I cut up the center of a sweater that was too small and crocheted the edges with embroidery floss to make a cute cardigan. Please note that single crochet is the extent of my crochet knowledge; other than this all I can do is sad and uneven scarves that curl up and even sadder and more uneven dischloths. You don't have to be an expert to do this.

There's a whole lot of turning sweaters into cardigans, such as this one from One Pearl Button and I love the little collar Erica Makes Stuff added. But I'm really not into cardigans.

I like this tunic from judethelost--check out the clever pocket she made of the ribbing cut off the sleeves! I can't quite master the wearing of the tunic, though. I don't know what kind of bottoms to wear with them. I feel like an oversized upper piece needs a fitted lower piece, but then I'll look like I'm in the 80s (and not the good kind of 80s).

Red Panty Crafts had a few cute ideas; I like the two piece cardigans at the bottom of the post.

There are several clever "Frankenknits" projects on Knitty by Kristi Porter; my favorite is the shibori felting technique, though I think it's best suited to scarves as demo-ed; I'd find it too cutesy for clothes. I also like her idea of turning a ribbed waist into a collar.

And of course Summerset has done a few refashions as well.

Anemone of FreePlayCraft cut up a very large sweater into an asymmetric cardigan and crocheted the edges, which suits me much better than a regular cardigan. Lee Meredith was also inspired by Anemone.

I'm looking more for clothes than accessories, but the photos on this Threadbanger tutorial are too adorable not to share.

There's a whole board on Craftster dedicated to reconstructing clothing; if you search "sweater" on that board you come up with some really creative projects people have shared.

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Can anyone think of a pink motorcycle jacket BWOF did recently? And can tell me how much yardage it calls for? Cidell is considering pricing leather in Egypt but I forgot to look last night and tonight will be insane packing for Germany (leave tomorrow!) and won't get a chance and by the time I'm back she'll be back.