One Sweater, Part Deaux

I can’t find my pictures for this sweater on my computer, so bear with the not great pictures…Please? Pretty Please?? To see the first sweater I did, go here…

Shopping online is fun, right? You get some major deals. These cardigans cost about $2 each. I washed them once (not dried), and the sleeves shrunk from being long sleeve, to being “I look like the kid in school with the hand-me-down clothes” length. So I haven’t worn them in a year. This is what I decided to do about 1 of them. Here’s the before:

Let’s not talk about whether the outfit works together or not. Or about the fact that the only mirror I have available to me is at the end of a dark hallway with no natural light. Or about my just out of the shower hair. Let’s do talk about the sweater being too big, unflattering, and awkward sleeve length. Not sure if I love the color, but we’ll see. So, I took to changing the sweater.

First off, I tried on the sweater to see where I want the sleeve to hit on my arm. If you have a shirt you like the length of, use it as a guide. That’s the green pin. So I figured out how long my cuff would be and then cut the sleeve off that much shorter. Make sense? Cut off the cuff and cut off the sleeve where you want it to be, minus the cuff and seam allowance. The middle section you cut out is either throw-away, or experiment…Like making flowers, ruffles, etc. to embellish your cardigan.

Then, baste around your new shorter sleeve. Line up the seams, right sides together, of the cuff and sleeve, and pin the cuff to the sleeve, gathering in the sleeve as needed to make it fit.

Sew the cuff to the sleeve.

Here it is turned inside out. Cute!

I decided I wanted to take in the cardigan too, so I put it on inside out, and pinned where I wanted to take it in. You may want to button up the cardigan, and wear a similar shirt you’d normally wear underneath (i.e.. tank top, shirt, long-sleeve, etc.) Then, sew it in the amount you decide. I did 1” at the most, and tapered it down to nothing at the bottom ribbing of the sweater. Pin, and sew. If you’re not sure, baste it first and then try it on again.

Then, embellish if you want, or leave it as is. I haven’t decided what else to do to it, so that will come…Also, make sure to take a picture while your kids are climbing all over you, trying to get your attention. Just keepin it real! Last sweater coming soon….