Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Red sweater to Festive Cardi Refashion

I know X'mas was a few months ago. But I have always wanted a piece of clothing that I can just throw on and it will say 'festive'. I'm not talking about a X'mas sweater with a moose on it (nothing wrong with that if that's what people like). I wanted something that says festive but still versatile enough for the office. Something simple and not too out there.

I thrifted this red sweater last month. It's a nice wool mix and I like the colour. But I'm not too fond of the metallic yarn embellishments on the shoulders.
So I got out the seam ripper, chalk and scissors, plus some ribbon and buttons in my stash.

1. First I measured the centre of the sweater and marked it with chalk.2. Then I sewed 2 ribbons as facings to the opening of the cardi before I slashed the centre of the sweater open. I prefer doing it this way just so that the cut sweater edges don't stretch out too much.
3. I folded the ribbons to the inside of the sweater and sewed them down. Then I added buttonholes and faux pearl buttons to make it a functional cardi. I also removed the metallic yarn from the shoulders.
4. I now have a functional cardi. I thought perhaps I could add a little more embellishment with the same red ribbon to make it just a bit more 'festive'.

I'm pretty happy with it. I think the pearl buttons are elegant. If I change my mind about the ribbon trim later, it's not too difficult to take it out. Can't wait to wear it!

4 comments:

  1. Very nice! Are those buttons actually functional? Or are they just sewed on to make it look like a button up? Would love to see more details on how you did that part! The ribbon around the neck is very nice, too. (But, I think I've got that part figured out!) You can email me at tishschneider@tds.net. (Pretty please? <>)

    Thanks in advance for the info! This is exactly what I've been looking to do with a red sweater in my refashion stash!

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  2. Thanks very much for your comment! As you can probably see, I have added more step-by-step details to this post. Hope that helps! Let me know how it goes with your red sweater refashion!

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  3. Awesome! Thank you so much for the added details. I like how you put the ribbon on before you cut up the center. That makes so much sense to keep it from stretching out of shape!! Very smart!!

    -Tish

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  4. I love that. I have a cute little cardigan like this and it looks good with jeans too. Thanks for the tute.

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