Hello Again and a Refashioned Cashmere Sweater

OMG!  Has it been almost two months since I have posted?  Where has the time gone and what have I been up to?  Geez!  I don't have much of an excuse, but I have been concentrating a bit more on some freelance work.  

I have always wanted to be the one that keeps a journal religiously, and can look back years later at all my oh so interesting entries.  But I have never been good at it and the entries end up feeling way to self conscience and not at all interesting.  I guess that is kind of how I have started to feel about my blog.  Don't get me wrong, I love blogs!  But sometimes I feel like I don't have much to say and don't want to bore you.  I need to change my way of thinking about it all and just blog and create things to blog about.  So here goes!

On that note, I do have something to share, that was quick, easy and fun.  On a recent thrift store outing I found this great pink cashmere sweater for $5!  BUT, it was a tad to small, bummer!  I held onto it while I finished my shopping, not sure if I should put it back or buy it (I also was holding the exact same sweater in a pale turquoise, that I am kicking myself for putting back).  I decided to buy it and figure out what to do with it later.  I brought it home, washed it and set about figuring out what to do with it.  

Since it was a tad small, I thought, why not make it into a open loose cardigan.  So I carefully removed the ribbing at the neck.  Just so you know most sweaters (especially ones made from nicer fibers like merino wool, alpaca and cashmere) are fully fashioned.  Well, what the heck does that mean?  You ask.  A fully fashioned sweater means that all the pieces used to make it up are knit to shape (unlike, a tee shirt which is cut to the shape you want), then those pieces are linked together (which is like sewing them together).  Anyhow, this means you can carefully take apart most sweaters without the pieces coming unraveled.  Just a little tidbit for you to know.  Sorry for the tangent.  I removed the rib around the neck and cut a straight line up the center front.

Since I cut the center front of the sweater, I needed to finish off the edges somehow, otherwise the garment would start to unravel.  I had this vintage fabric with pink flowers, that went with the sweater.  So I cut a couple of bias strips to make binding, to finish off the front edges.  

Now what to do about the neck and closure of this cardigan... How about a great shawl collar that become the ties to close this puppy up.  

Here is a close-up of the shawl collar.  It is basically a wide bias band folded over, then I sandwiched the neckline of the sweater between the two layers of the shawl.

WOOHOO!  A great new cardigan to bring welcome Spring in.

Comments

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawkG88pGc8CMcfPUHkSeHaqIIYWG5butG3Y]

Gorgeous! You are crazy talented, ma'am. xoLP

[sparkleneely]

I've seen this sweater in action and I can say that it is GORGEOUS (and so is the lady who made it)!

What an amazing idea! you're fabulous. xoxo

[Natalie Zee Drieu]

I love this tutorial. It's beautiful - I love bows lately too. xoxo

[dolin oshea]

Thank you, Ladies!

[FaveCrafts]

That is fantastic. Just fantastic.

Any chance of a more detailed tutorial for the sewing inept? =)

[Concha]

F-a-b-u-l-o-u-s!! What a great way to refashion something otherwise useless and make it your own.

You rock!

[dolin oshea]

Thank you FaveCrafts!

I will look around for another sweater and if I find one I can do a more detailed tutorial. Or let me know what details you would like me to expand upon and I can help you out. Email me if you like.

Take care,
Dolin

[dolin oshea]

Thank you for your kind words Concha!

[Mimi Pond]

DAMN you've got the style and the whole THING going on! You clever, clever girl!
How gorgeous! And no I never did know what "fully fashioned" meant. Saw it for years on sweater labels and thought it was just some bullshit, like "bumper to bumper." What a fantastic idea!
Have a great birthday!
I love your blog.
Mimi