Tight Sweater to Cozy Cardigan

This weeks tutorial is even easier than our upcycled skirt tutorial from last week. And that's saying something, because that skirt is super simple. We transformed a sweater that was a bit too tight into a cute open cardigan for Elizabeth's roommate, Abi.

Cute, but could use a little update.

Start out with a basic, v-neck sweater, preferably one that is a little too big (this one is too small for Kaitlin but Abi is smaller so it will work better for her). Take a ruler and draw a line straight down the middle with a pen.

 We told you this was easy!

 Lovely! Now, just cut straight up the line, leaving your sweater open.

It should look something like this.

Now take some straight pins and fold the cut edges in about one inch. It helps to use your ruler as you go down to make sure the seam is even on both edges. Also, you're probably working with a knit fabric, so don't iron the seams down. Ironing really doesn't help much with knits.

If you want to see how it will look when it's done, you can put it on now and just try not to poke yourself!

This next step is super important. When you are working with a knit fabric, you want to use a ball point needle. Using the wrong needle will cause your machine to skip stitches, so don't skip this part! Just change the needle out really quickly and you'll be set.

A pack of ballpoint needles is only about $1.50 and they come in really handy.

You'll also want to change the alignment of your needle to the left so your seam will be tight and tidy.

Just slide that handle over and get ready to stitch!

Sew along the bottom of the 1 inch folded seam until you get almost to the edge.Turn your fabric so that you are now sewing up the length of the sweater (from hem to neck, in other words).

Remember to backstitch over each end of your seam to make it hold longer.

Repeat this step on the other side of the sweater.

Your finished seam will be nearly invisible, unless you use a contrasting thread.

Guess what? You're done! Two seams, one cut, POOF! Something new to wear this fall. How easy was that? 

Isn't that fun?

This is why we love repurposing. Just a few simple tweaks and you have something great and totally new to wear.

Kaitlin decided to test out hair chalking this week with blue and purple chalk pastels and is a little inspired to test out dyeing fabric. Keep watching our tutorials to see what we come up with next!