Thursday, March 13, 2014

Sweater Refashion

It seems like my husband is continually purging clothes (poor guy, married to a clothing-hoarder like me). My "stuff to upcycle" pile grows faster than I can sew. One of his recent cast-offs was a very warm, all-cotton black sweater (in a men's large).

Before: overexposed to show detail.

There was nothing wrong with it, it just didn't fit him anymore. Cotton sweaters seem to be a rarity in this world (I think all of mine are acrylic) so I immediately started thinking of ways to upcycle it to fit me. I decided to use a pattern from my stash to recut the sweater.


I recently finished a from-scratch version of this pattern, so I knew it would fit well. To refashion the sweater, I carefully cut the sleeves off, then open under the arm. I then laid the pattern on the sleeve, with the hem of the pattern piece on the hem of the sleeve, and cut it. I did the same with the front/back of the sweater bodice, reshaping the armhole/shoulder area for the raglan sleeve. I was very careful to leave the neckline ribbing (plus seam allowance) because it appeared to be knitted together with the bodice. It fit well so there was no need to reshape it anyway.

Black is impossible to photograph.

A few quick passes through the serger, and I had new sleeves. Then it was a simple matter of trying on the sweater, pinning out the excess at the sides, and sewing new seams. I kept the original length and hem.


Sorry for the Ring-esque photobomb from AB, but she doesn't slow down for anything these days!

I LOVE this sweater, it has my favorite mid-length sleeves, it's warm, cotton, and long enough to wear like a tunic. The best part? I realized that my husband had an identical one, in grey! I can't wait to refashion that one as well!


Time for Thrifty Thursday! To celebrate the birth of her new son, Amy is having a great sale on boy-themed patterns! Visit Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop to save 25% (today only) on the Classic Oxford Button-Up, the Little Gentleman Suit Jacket, the Little Gentleman Pants & Vest, and the Little Gentleman Tie & Bow Tie!


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