sweater refashioned

Always a sucker for a good thriftstore find, I picked up a grey, slightly boxy sweater a while back. The label read 75 % silk and 15 % cashmere, so I just couldn’t leave it behind!

Buttoning isn’t always easy.

First up, I sewed two parallel seams down the front, and cut in the middle of them. I wanted to prevent any potential fraying, but the sweater-fabric was very well behaved. I positioned the seams slightly to the left of the center, so that the opening would remain centered after overlapping the two edges. I also took in the sides a couple of centimetres at the waist, to get a better fit.

Next I sewed on some dark blue linen lace at the edge of the side that would be covered when the cardigan is buttoned. I thought it would look sweet with a bit of lace peeking out, but it was more drab than anything. The dark color didn’t help, and neither did the fact that there was no embellishment really visible when it was all buttoned up. It needed something more bold!

I thought about some sunny, yellow, machine embroidered swirls, but I was worried it might turn out a little too bright and almost pastel-like for my taste. Fortunately, I found a scrap of  lovely, moodier yellow fabric in my stash, which worked perfectly with the grey. I love freehand machine embroidery, so I found a thread to match the color of the sweater, and set to it.

Terrible mixed incandescent and natural lighting.

On my trusty Bernina, all I have to do is switch to the embroidery foot (It’s more or less just a circle, like a tiny embroidery hoop), set the stitch length and width to zero, and lower the transporter. This allows the needle to just go up and down, while I’m creating the pattern by moving the fabric. Lots of fun!

We’re still getting some half-chilly days here, so while I’m waiting for the summer heat, I have something to cover up with!