posts tagged ‘refashion’
how to refashion a cardigan
This post has been months in the making, but to those who were anticipating this tutorial, I hope it was worth the wait! For now I’m just posting all the steps here, but plan on formatting it nicely in a .pdf (so you can print the instructions out and keep them handy!) later, when I have a bit more time.
We all have them lurking in the back of our closets: those cardigan sweaters that we bought because they were “practical” or were 100% wool and on sale for a great price. But they languish because they don’t fit in the most flattering manner; the worst offenders are the large, boxy type cardigans. But you don’t need to banish these from your wardrobe anymore! Refashioning a cardigan into something more flattering on you is easy and only requires some simple sewing supplies and know-how, a small dose of patience and about one afternoon.
I started refashioning and embellishing my cardigans a few years ago when I wanted to recreate the high end looks that I saw in catalogs with the cardigans I had or found at thrift shops. Although much of my learning was trial by error, I have stumbled across a few good resources. My favorite is “The Yestermorrow Clothes Book” by Diana Funaro, published in 1976 (check Amazon and Alibris for second hand copies). It shows a smattering of ways to refashion all styles of sweaters, and I highly recommend finding a copy if you’re looking to explore other sweater refashioning options.
This tutorial is quite easy; I think even a determined beginner seamstress could easily do this. I have developed these techniques from several years of adjusting and altering my own cardigans, but this is by no means the zenith of cardigan refashioning. I encourage you to tweak and modify these steps and methods as you go along to suit your needs.
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Posted to: featured, refashion, sewing, tutorial. | 48 lovely thoughts
project snippets
[ click for a larger view. ]
This has ended up being the week I babble on about my various projects, hasn’t it? Oh dear! I promise I have more interesting stuff next week–including a new interview! I swear this week has been all about catching up–especially on my blogroll. So for now, I thought I’d show you two things I worked on over the holiday weekend…
Knitting progress first! I cannot believe how much I’ve knit in a little over a week on this cardigan; especially since I had to rip out about 30 rows at one point. (Lesson learned: reread the instructions to make sure I know when the increases are supposed to start.) The back is completely finished and the front right is being wrapped up. I do need more yarn though. Which makes me a bit nervous since I doubt I’ll be able to get the exact dye lot again. But oh well–worse comes to worse and I’ll just through it in some dye afterward and see what happens! (I know, I’m taking such a “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” approach to this. lol!) I love how soft the yarn is and how quickly it’s knitting up. The pattern looks intimidating but it’s quite simple. Now ideas of finishing it by the time the weather cools off are starting to dance through my head… lol!
[ click for a larger view. ]
Another little project I did was embellish a white tank top. I’m only so-so on how this one turned up, but though the concept was worth posting about. In all honesty, it’s the tank top and not my embellishment that doesn’t work. I just grabbed a cheap tank that is really tight to do this with, and tight plus frilly stuff doesn’t work, at least in my opinion. I think I didn’t realize how tight it was until after I finished. Oh well. lol. But basically, I just cut a bunch of 1 1/2″ wide bias strips out of some lightweight silk and seamed them together to create long tapes. The ruffle was gathered and zig-zagged to the neckline (twice. I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t rip off in one of my super klutzy moments!), and the rosette I gathered and stitched together by hand. Pretty simple and easy! It’s cute (I wore it to our friend’s house Sunday evening with a polka dot skirt), but I still am not a fan of the super tight tank. But maybe that is just me. lol!
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Posted to: creativity, knitting, refashion. | 27 lovely thoughts
Mr. Freckles & the newly embellished top
Gratuitous rabbit photos! lol. Sunday while Sailor Husband was tied up in homework, Mr. Freckles and I decided to do a little photo session. Alas, neither the camera, or Mr. Freckles, were quite up for the task, but still some cuteness occurred!
Also a little peek at a t-shirt I recently thrifted. It was boring, plain and beige (kinda like the walls in our apartment–that are slowly driving me mad!). Out came my stash of antique and vintage trims, where I found the perfect antique lace collar to pair with this. I also added a bow, which happens to be a piece of ribbon from my bridal bouquet!
Hope you all are having a splendid day!
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Posted to: happy things, refashion. | 19 lovely thoughts
sweet shoes
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend. We just kept pretty low and quiet (except for all the grocery shopping we had to do); Sailor Husband had a boatload of homework to finish, and I occupied myself with a few little projects and some knitting. I’m making quick progress on that 40s snood I’m creating, so hopefully in a few days it’ll be done!
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Remember these shoes I thrifted last month? They are so cute, but one is missing a button at the ankle strap. I finally picked up a leather needle this past weekend to repair the buttonless shoe, and raided my button collection for some suitable replacements! Here’s the three pairs that I settled on; I just can’t decide which I should go with… The flower shaped ones with the red centers are certainly calling me (they look like candy!). I would love your opinions: which buttons would you choose? Do tell!
Also, a bit of eye candy for your Monday! Did you know Lady Melbourne has a YouTube channel? She covers some enchanting and fashionable Melbourne spots in her videos, but they’re worth checking out for some inspiration and ideas. Have a lovely Monday, dear friends!
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Posted to: refashion. | 38 lovely thoughts
:: blogs + lovely things ::
Just popping in because I wanted to show you a picture of my finished shirt refashion! I love how it came out–I’ve been wearing it for days. lol. I’m not sure if it’s the stripes, or lace, or just the fit that keep me coming back to it again and again. But it sure is a versatile piece!
Also, last week the lovely Paper Doll gave me a blog award! She has the most amazing, vintage-inspired style, and I’m just tickled to pieces that she included me. And so, I’d like to pass on the love a bit and gift these blogs with awards:
Alyson writes about a variety of design and style related topics at her blog Unruly Things, and always has the most beautiful photography to accompany many of her posts!
Kelly just started her new blog I’m Nobody Too, and she writes gorgeous, inspiring posts.
I just started reading Jennine’s blog, The Coveted, but I absolutely adore her variety of fashion-related articles!
Betsy blogs about a lot of retro-inspired fashion that just makes me swoon at From Betsy with Love!
Sally’s vintage-infushed style always inspires me at her blog Sally Jane Vintage.
I just found that Ranna writes a lovely blog, Only Shallow, in addition to her stylish Flickr photostream!I know for awhile I didn’t do these sorts of things, and suddenly it seems like I’m doing loads of them! But I really think it’s fantastic that everyone in the blog community can have the opportunity to be generous with each other. Not to mention it gives me an excuse to post about blogs I love to read, but you may not know about! hehe! And, because I’m always curious… please feel free to comment with a link to your blog–I’d love to see it!!!
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Posted to: inspiration, links, refashion. | 14 lovely thoughts
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