I've been on the look out for a new black cardigan for work for a while now. The one I have is fine but boring and I've had it for years and I'm bored of it. But I need something reasonably priced in plain black but I don't want another boring black cardigan to match the one I already have.
At the same time I have a black jumper that I bought cheap in the sale (£2.99 I believe) that I like because it has funny wing things on the shoulders but because it is plain black I never wear it as it doesn't really go with any outfits. Jumpers are hard to fit into an ensemble I find.
The solution was so obvious it's only taken me a year to think of it; turn my jumper into a cardigan I can wear at work.
Step one: Lay the jumper down flat and find the center and mark a line.
Step two: cut down the center line.
Step three: Attach bias binding* (I used the satiny kind, and it took a whole meter for one cardigan, and I am 5ft7") to the newly cut raw edges, and sew it in place.
Step four: Measure where you want the buttons to go- I used 6 and space the about 7cm apart, and mark this on both sides of the old center line.
Step five: On one side sew the buttons and on the other cut button holes. I have yet to fathom the button hole stitch on my sewing machine so I cheated. I cut the holes and then used a match to finish off the edges of the holes. The match melts the threads to stop them fraying. Time will tell how well this works!
Step six: sit back and marvel at your finish product.
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| Before |
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| After |
I also did an old purple jumper that I never wear, but I decided not to add buttons to it. I generally don't like cardigans that don't fasten so I may in the future add another type of fastening to it.
*Bias Binding? It is a strip of fabric usually in cotton or satin that is cut on the bias- that means at a 90 degree angle, which allows it to stretch and therefore go around curves like arm holes or neck lines. The edges are already folded over to give you a neat finish and you simple fold it over a raw edge and sew in place.
Star Trek dresss! I used New Look pattern 6048 and a Star Trek duvet cover I bought off the interwebs. My first attempt was way too big so I took the dress apart and re cut the pieces a size smaller- I also decided that there was too much of the Star Trek fabric and I took off the skirt. I bought some blue camouflage fabric from the market for a totally inspired creation. The bodice section was still way too big even though I re cut it from a 12 to a 10 but then I realised that it's an American pattern (doh) and they have big sizes so an American 10 is a UK 14. Anyway I couldn't be bothered to re-cut the pattern so I just cut a bunch of the back. I think I might make it a bit shorter but we'll see.
