Sunday, February 3, 2013

Sweater Refashion Extravaganza #2

So here comes my second sweater re-fashion project. A great example how less is sometimes more. In this case, it really didn't take much to turn this sweater from a boring never-worn item to a favorite cold-day darling. It is 100% cashmere, which is why I really wanted to turn it into something I wear...


Turtlenecks just never look good on me to begin with. The distance from neck to bust-point is shorter on me than in standard sizes, which is why this sweater also wrinkles in that area. On top of that, I had nasty little glue spots in the lower center front. These facts pretty much sent me on my way, and out came this: A two-color v-neck sweater with extralong sleeves (which, I swear, was entirely intentional!):


You have already encountered my husbands old red knit sweater in my last post, and here its remnants come to use again...


I first cut out the v-neck and pinned it onto the other sweater (turtle neck already cut off at this point). I marked the cutting-line with pins:


...though remembering to add the seam allowance before cutting...


I serged the seam except for the very v-tip, which I did by hand, for precision reasons.


Then I used a simple running stitch to hold the seam-allowances down and create a smooth seam, as well as to create those little "dimples"(this is before ironing, it looks better after!): 


For the sleeves, I cut off the rib-knit cuffs on both sweaters - you also see the turtleneck it the picture below. These are elements that are highly valuable in other re-fashion projects, so always keep them if they are in good shape!


Then I simply sewed a stripe of red sleeve to the pale rose ones, and then the cuff back on. I did NOT take out any length in the pale rose sleeves, because I wanted to make them extra long.

I did the same procedure for the hem, but here taking out the same amount of the pale rose as putting in red. Mainly because that is where the glue spots were, and also because I actually liked the length just how it was.


Don't forget to iron ANYTHING you sew. Also knit/wool things want to be ironed. It looks so much better afterwards. That is, if you are smart and don't overheat the iron, which, thankfully, I didn't.


An here it is, simple, but better than before. Much better.


Of course you can combine it with jeans and casual wear, but with the luscious cashmere I was tempted to try a more elegant combination. It's so difficult to be elegant on cold days, but this might actually be an item for that list.


Guess what, more of the red sweater from my husband comes to use in the next re-fashion project. It seems to be a never-ending source!

Thank you for all your lovely comments to my previous posts, and happy sewing to all of you!
Best,
Katja



2 comments:

  1. I really love your refashions!!! Really really nice...

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