This pullover certainly came close to disposal. I bought it at Value Village (where else, right?) for about $7-$8. It was the start of winter and I was looking for something warm to wear around the house, and the orange colour (my favourite!) immediately caught my eye. Unfortunately I discovered I'm not a big fan of pullovers; cardigans are more my thing so I contemplated donating it back to VV. Fortunately, I found a tutorial on how to turn an old pullover into a cardigan over at Happiness is...creating and, well, suffice it to say that this orange number is back in my closet.
I started with the tutorial and added my own embellishments. Instead of seam binding, I used twill tape, which I feel are a little strudier and suited to something I'm going to wear a lot. Since the material is thick cotton wool blend, I would suggest using a tape or ribbon that's at least 1" wide. I also added pockets (for practical reasons!) cut out from an old bed sheet and a heart appliqué (why not, right?) from some left over fabric. The result was a slouchy cardigan I can quickly throw on when I'm curling up on the sofa and take off when I'm doing dishes.
Check out the tutorial and see if you can do this to one of your old sweaters!
Materials:
Pullover sweater
Twill tape 1" wide, at least 2 yards long
Straight pins
Needle and thread OR sewing machine
Paper, pen, ruler to create pocket template*
+1/2 yard cotton fabric for pockets *
2. For a more relaxed neckline, I trimmed some of collar off.
3. Turn the pullover inside-out. Pin the twill tape along the raw edge of the sweater. Make sure the tape is perfectly aligned to the raw edge of the pullover.
4. Make sure to fold about 1/2" of the tape over the bottom edge of the sweater as shown. This will help hide the raw edge of the tape. Do this to both ends of the tape.
5. Sew the tape onto the sweater with a 3/8" seam allowance.
7. Sew in place with a 3/8" seam allowance.
2. Cut FOUR pieces of fabric using the pocket template.
3. Determine where you'd like to place your pockets. Undo 6 1/2" of the stitching on the seam.
3. Place one pocket piece on the right side of the sweater and align the vertical edge of the pocket piece with the open seam. Sew a straight stitch along the seam. Repeat with a second pocket piece.
4. Turn the pieces inwards into the sweater. Press the seam and sew a top stitch to secure it in place.
5. Now turn the sweater inside out so that the pocket pieces are exposed again. Align both pieces together and sew with with a 1/4" seam.
6. Repeat with the second pocket and you're done!
1. Cut straight down the middle of your pullover. You can measure for precision but I simply folded the pullover in half and marked the centre points.
5. Sew the tape onto the sweater with a 3/8" seam allowance.
6. Next, fold the tape outwards over the raw edge and pin securely. Tuck in the ends of the tape to hide its raw edges and prevent fraying.
Now, you can call it done at this point if you want. For practical reasons, however, I decided to add some pockets. Keep reading if you'd like to see how I did that!
Pockets
1. Pocket template: Draw a 6" vertical line and pace your wrist perpendicular to it.
Draw a bubble around your hand, starting at the bottom of the line and
ending at the the top. You should have a D-like shape. Cut out the shape
with a 1/2" margin around it.
3. Determine where you'd like to place your pockets. Undo 6 1/2" of the stitching on the seam.
3. Place one pocket piece on the right side of the sweater and align the vertical edge of the pocket piece with the open seam. Sew a straight stitch along the seam. Repeat with a second pocket piece.
4. Turn the pieces inwards into the sweater. Press the seam and sew a top stitch to secure it in place.
5. Now turn the sweater inside out so that the pocket pieces are exposed again. Align both pieces together and sew with with a 1/4" seam.
6. Repeat with the second pocket and you're done!
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