the salvaged sweater
We have a bag full of clothes for Goodwill sitting in our closet. It’s been there for almost a year because we’ve been too lazy to go to the donation center.
So when I saw this post on Grosgrain Fabulous, I just dug into the Goodwill bag and retrieved an old sweater to use. The post was part of a series on creative ways to revamp old sweaters by embellishing them. This particular post showed how to turn a mumu into a fitted sweater by adding a peplum. In case you’re wondering, a peplum is a ruffly thing added to the waistline of a sweater.
This is the sweater I started with:
Problem was that it’s not a mumu, and there wasn’t enough fabric at the bottom to create a real ruffly peplum. So I couldn’t exactly copy Grosgrain’s version. Next time, I guess.
To upcycle my sweater, I shortened the bottom to make the sweater waist-length. Then I took in the sides to make it more fitted.
I turned long sleeves into short sleeves,
and replaced the buttons with eye and hook closures.
Lastly, I added gold braiding.
The finished piece?
And all this was done by hand. I don’t own a sewing machine (that is on the List of Things to Buy), so I didn’t have any other choice. If I had one, I could’ve saved a lot of time and prevented all the pinpricks on my fingers. Oh well. I guess this is proof that patience (and a good thimble) will get the job done.
It looks much better. Congrats!
Your sweater turned out so cute! I’m impressed that you didn’t use a sewing machine, too. I bought a bunch of light sweaters at the thrift shop to make into summer cardigans, and I have some sparkly trim laying around that I had no idea what to do with. This takes care of both of my problems! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Alyssa! Good luck with your sweater revamp too!
well done:) I used to love to recreate old clothes… now I rarely have time or motivation to do it… this post makes me want to become my own fashion designer again!
[...] I have a blue sweater that Jeff calls my ‘default’ sweater because I wear it so much. I got it years ago at forever 21, and wear it because it matches a lot. Well, I finally got tired of it. Instead of retiring the sweater, I upcycled it. This is the 2nd sweater I’ve done. Read about the first salvaged sweater here. [...]