So I have this problem a lot… I buy Winter clothes because they’re pretty but  you know, living in Australia and all, I don’t have that much use for them. Winter clothes are just prettier though!

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

This brings me to my current situation, I bought this jumper when I was 16 and living in North QLD (which for those overseas is ridiculously hot. There are pretty much 2 seasons: Summer and slightly more Summer with rain) and it never really fit in the right way. The neckline was really high and the middle had no shape, the shoulders didn’t sit right and generally it just made me look out of proportion… but the pattern was so pretty! So I’ve lugged this stupid sweater around through 3 cities, 7 houses and various different climates. Now living somewhere it does actually get kind of cold I thought “Hey! I’ll finally get to wear it!”… Then I didn’t. I didn’t wear it once through the whole damn Winter.

This time when I decided to clean out my wardrobe it didn’t make the cut… but somehow I still couldn’t let the damn thing go! So I decided to see if I could alter it and make it wearable XD That’s a long intro for this one tutorial but this is going to be the first in a lot of sewing tutorials as I become more ruthless with my wardrobe!

So this is how it started:

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

I decided to turn it into a cardigan.

What you need:

  • Sweater
  • Needle
  • Thread
  • Scissors

First thing fold it in half with the neckline on the outside like this:

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Cut down the fold, only cut the front layer of fabric!

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

You should have something like this:

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Now because I hated the neckline I decided to make it more flattering so I folded myself a new one which scoops down below the bust. In theory you could cut whatever neckline you want at this point.

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Cut off the excess:

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Starting on one side at the bottom we’re going to hem the whole thing. Because it’s a knit fabric you will need to enclose all the edges so it doesn’t fray. If you have an overlocker/serger it’s a good idea to go around all of the edges but not completely necessary.

So fold the edge over:

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Fold it over again so the raw edge in sandwiched inside:

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Thread your needle and using a blanket stitch start going down the seam.

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

This is the close up on what it should look like:

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

You could easily run down the seam with a sewing machine but this method (if you’re careful) won’t leave visible stitches on the front of the cardi.

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Repeat on the other side and you’re finished!

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

Now you need some way to close it, you could add a button or ribbons very easily but I decided to leave it as-is and make sweater clips. I’ll show you how to make those tomorrow!

Because I took out a good couple of inches in the middle for the seams it’s now a whole lot more flattering and form fitting. I haven’t decided if I want to do anything else with it yet, I’m thinking it might benefit from some pretty embroidery or possibly some more shaping in the arm area. We’ll see! And if I decide to do it I will definitely post photos!

Tutorial- Reshaping a Sweater into a Cardigan

So there you go, first sewing tutorial in ages. More to come though, I’ll be digging out my sewing machine later this week to do some real work on it and everything XD

By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close