Actually it is Grandma’s sweater. Re-purposed.
Remember how my mom gave me two entire trash bags full of sweaters?
What is a girl to do with all of these sweaters? Well, make sweater puppets, stuffed animals, Pottery Barn Knock-off pillows, and hats, of course.
And today I learned something even more awesome from the blog Smashed Peas and Carrots when I was Googling for more ideas about what to do with these sweaters. You can make toddler dresses out of them! Genius, that is, pure genius. Had to try it.
I made mine without the sleeves, though, because I liked the jumper concept and the sleeves seemed a little beyond my limited seamstress capabilities.
Start by tracing a dress your daughter already owns onto the sweater. This dress is shorter than I wanted the jumper to be, so I placed it up a little higher. Give yourself some wiggle room on the outside for a seam allowance. I don’t measure, I’m a really sloppy sewer, but Smashed Peas and Carrots says to leave 1/4 of an inch.
Cut along the line, I did both sides of the sweater at once to make things as easy as possible for myself.
Put the two pieces right-sides-together and sew from the arm hole (Where my finger is) down on both sides. Then sew the shoulder straps together, making sure to go back and forth a few times for stability.
My mom gave me a Serger for my birthday, but I don’t know how to use it yet, so I zig-zaged around the outside of the arm holes to prevent the sweater from unraveling. This gave a pretty cool ruffled effect, but it wasn’t what I was going for so eventually I decided to hem the arm holes. It’s not necessary to do both, just pick one or the other. (The arm holes also stretched quite a bit, so at the very end I sewed them shut a bit more.)
The neck is sort of hard to explain, but I’ll do the best I can. I cut the neck off of the sweater and pined it to the wrong side of the jumper. Then I zig-zag stiched to attach the two piece together. (Again, I wish I knew how to use that Serger that is sitting in its box on the kitchen table.)
Then turn the sweater right-side-out (Ignore the fact that it is still wrong-side-out in the picture below and just focus on the way the collar is folded. I was still experimenting at the point when I took this picture.) and fold the collar over the front. If your collar is cooperative it should stay like this, but mine wasn’t, so I stitched it in place.
At this point I also decided to hem the sleeves because I was going for a clean, classic look.
I made another sweater hat to match it. (That’s the 6th one this week!)
Now to wait for the little one to wake up in the morning so we can play dress up…
How stinkin’ cute would this be with some white tights and maybe a white long-sleeved shirt underneath?
Answer: This cute!
(The arm holes don’t really stick out like the pic on the right, but this was the best picture I could get to show the length)
It would have cost about $30 to buy this sweater jumper & hat on sale at Gymboree, but in this case I actually like my free ones better anyway. Not bad for an hour’s work after the kids were in bed.
Time for me to go do my happy dance. 🙂
Paula says
Aren’t you clever for coming up with this idea?? Your little girl is going to look adorable in this dress.
Jennifer@SweetSimplicity says
This is adorable and I love the hat!
Mary Joy says
Those are adorable!!!! Oh my goodness!!! I don’t know how to use a serger yet either! But you did a terrific job with these! I love the purple and the hat is adorable!!! What a great way to use the sweaters!
And how precious for your daughter to have the memory from your grandma!
Visiting from Amanda’s!
Meg says
So cute! And you’re not a sewer?? C’mon! I love it.
Maggie says
Oh now that is just adorable!! Your little model is super cute too! Good job on the sewing too, I’d totally buy one!!
Rebecca says
What a little cutie-Love how you remade it -wonderful!
Allie says
OMG! This turned out Absolutely Adorable!
You should come link this up at my Making It With Allie Party!
AllieMakes.Blogspot.com
LB3K says
Awesome! Love it. Thanks for linking to Wardrobe Wednesday!
Leisel
Kristin says
That is such a cute dress. You did an awesome job on it.
Fawnda@Fireflies and Jellybeans says
This is ADOREABLE! Thanks for linking up to the Iron Crafter! Feel free to link up more than one project if you want!
rainbowcreek says
Adorable! And you are so lucky to have a sweet pea who will wear a hat. That totally makes the outfit! Good luck in the Iron Crafter contest too!
Twin Inspiration says
I love it. I am also on a sweater kick. I have used them to make several things. I will have to make my daughter a dress now. Thanks for sharing.
Lisa
http://www.twininspiration.blogspot.com
I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar says
Great job. Sweaters are one of the most fun things to upcycle. Thanks for sharing this. She looks so cute. Way to go!
Cheri
Harmony says
Great job! I love it!! But it’s time to take that serger out of the box and learn how to use it. Once you do, you’ll love it and wonder why it took you so long! (Until the two of you get in a fight. Then you’ll have to figure it out some more, make up, and then love it some more.)
Amy (naptimecrafters) says
Super cute-Thanks for auditioning for American Crafter!
linda @ CraftaholicsAnonymous says
awww! super cute! love sweaters! great up-cycle project!
happy crafting!
Linda