Turn Throw Blankets Into a Dress and Shawl

2 Materials
$45
1 Day
Advanced

Michael's had all their Christmas items on sale, I loved the look of these cable knit throw blankets, I grabbed 2 to create a sweater dress and matching shawl.

This was a spur of the moment outfit idea, I knew that working with knits would be a challenge, but had I known how tedious it would be, I would have probably changed my mind. I am sure those who knit or have worked with sewing this before have all the secrets to dealing with it. I put this project at an advanced level but it could also be medium if you have the knit skills. Sewing the dress was not hard at all, but working with the knit is.

I grabbed a turtleneck dress from my closet to use as a template for the dress. BEFORE cutting it, put a seam in where you pin it, this will help to keep it from unraveling, which it does quickly.

After cutting sew all your edges. Here you can see the edges curing and fraying. I used a zigzag and a straight stitch, I went over the edges 2 times to ensure they would not fray.

For the sleeves, when I pinned and sewed the edges, it created its own ruffle due to the curling of the fabric. I just went with it since it created a cute detail.

Here it is on my dress form before trimming the excess on some of the seams.

After trimming off all the edges, running an iron over the seams helped to straighten it out. It will still look humpy in areas but once I put it on it helped to even them out.

Folding the other throw in half and putting it over the shoulders creates a pretty draping effect. It gives you plenty of room to move your arms. You could cut it in half to have less bulk, but I did not want to mess with sewing it and I like a tiered drape.

Here is the dress by itself. I live in a hot state which is why I did not want long sleeves. I don't think I would wear it by itself since I think the shawl is what makes the outfit stylish.

I safety pinned the shoulders under the shawl to the shoulders of the dress just to keep it in place since it is heavier. The shawl is so nice and warm!

Here is the back so you can see the batwing drape

Adding a faux fur scarf and fur trimmed boots, gives it a little fashion punch.

At 5'2 it can easily overwhelm a shorter frame, It would probably look even better on a taller person. No one would guess this used to be a blanket lol. It is now a one of a kind Christmas dress.


Many blessings to you and yours over the holidays!

Suggested materials:
  • 2 throw blankets   (Michaels)
  • Matching thread   (Walmart)

The author may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

Comments
Join the conversation
4 of 32 comments
  • Bet ! Bet ! on Jan 29, 2023

    What a great outfit . ! If only I was as tall & slim as you ! Because of osteoporosis I have lost nearly 4 " so am no longer as tall as I was ( nor am as slender as I was ) That style would suit any age with your shape Well done ! I used to use adult knits to make clothes for my children when they were small but back then I only had a machine with straight stitch so used to mark the pattern & stitch 2 rows close together before cutting which stopped it unravelling . Well done !

  • Karen Karen on Jan 29, 2023

    What an incredible outfit! You look beautiful in it! I am going in the morning to get 2 blankets! Very clever!

Next