Upcycled Sweatshirt to Classy Cardigan

Carolyn Wainscott back again with a sweatshirt makeover into a classy cardigan. My fave old throw-over cardigan that I work in around the house and have even run errands in (in fact, I have it on as I write this piece!) was created by simply whacking off the sleeves to the length I wanted and cutting open down the center front. I favor 3/4-length sleeves. That took about 3 or 4 minutes—no sewing, no trims.

However, I wanted something a little more refined to wear out. I have looked for a long time to replace a couple of old cardigans with pockets but haven’t been successful. It was easier to find sweatshirts that would do the job. The sweatshirts were bought a couple of sizes too large to fit over other sweaters.

Shopping in my stash yielded fabrics to match the sweatshirts for pockets, cuffs, and edge trim. One afternoon’s work turned out 2 sweatshirt cardigans. Two pairs of sweatpants also had to be cut shorter and hemmed. I don’t like the elastic around the ankles, so now they have a dressier look. They were on sale for $5 in the men’s department, they fit nicely, and they match the sweatshirts.

Cuffs:

Measure the length for your sleeves. You may choose to leave the sleeve as is, but I wanted matching cuffs.

Measure around the sleeve bottom—mine were 15″—and cut 2-16″ x 9″

Sew 9″ sides, right sides together. Turn right sides out and fold in half, wrong sides together.

Sew inside sleeves. Fold to outside of sleeve and top stitch all around the cuffs.

Cut down the center front and around the neckline, thereby removing ribbing.

Bias Strip:

Cut bias strip: 2″ wide x the length around front sides and neckline. Mine was about 86″.

Fold to wrong side and press 1/2″ on each long side to create a double fold bias strip.

Fold in 1/2″ on one end of bias strip.

Sew bias strip to the inside front, starting at the bottom of one side. Using a 1/2″ seam allowance, sew all around front, neckline, and down the other front side to the bottom of the ribbing. Make sure to fold under 1/2″ at the other end of the strip.

Fold 1/2″ bias strip over the edge and sew all around.

For the blue cardigan, I chose not to finish the front edges with bias (truthfully, I kind of ran out of material—LOL). The edges were simply folded over and stitched all around.

Pockets:

Cut 2-16″ x 8″.

Fold in half, right sides facing, to create a square.

Sew around 3 sides, leaving 2″ open for turning.

Clip corners, turn right side out, and press.

Top stitch to cardigan.

Voila! You are done (unless you decide to add buttons, snaps, etc.)

Toasty warm and ready to go.

It took longer to write about the sweatshirt makeovers than to make both of them. I’m pleased with the way  they both turned out, love the big pockets-that is the main reason for making these-the pockets.

Happy Crafting

Carolyn Wainscott

www.carolynscanvas.blogspot.com

What’s been your favorite refashioning project ever? Let us know below in the comments!