Sweater To Cardigan

Before; a shapeless sweater and after; a cool cardigan.

This sweater is made from baby alpaca. (They just shave the wool off, no baby alpacas were harmed in the making of this sweater dress.) Alpaca wool is very good quality and warm as can be... like it's super warm... like too warm... I am too hot... I can't wear this dress. I start to over heat every time I put it on. I was going to pass out, but I had an idea.

I decided to open up this sweater. It is going to have a new life as a long cardigan. To start, I cut the sweater right up the middle using my sharpest sewing scissors. I used the wavy striped pattern as my guide to find the center. If your sweater doesn't have a noticeable pattern, just measure in from the side seams.

It looked like this. Would that cut edge fray? I wasn't sure, it was a really tight knit, but I didn't want to take a chance.

This tight woven sweater didn't seem to be fraying at all but I wanted to be sure it wouldn't fray over time.

I used my serger on that edge. I started at the hem and went up one side of the opening and down the other. I used black thread so it would blend in. If you want or need to use a sewing machine, use a zigzag stitch right on the edge. Use matching thread so it blends in with your sweater. Iron the newly sewn stitches if necessary.

When you use a serger it leaves threads hanging off the at the end of a seam. I used a needle to tuck those threads under the stitches inside the sweater. This will keep it all nice and neat. If you used a sewing machine you can back stitch (Stitch back and froth.) at the end of your seam.

Here is a look at my new cardigan. This open cardigan is easier to wear and remove if I get too hot. I couldn't remove the dress if I got over heated. I was really happy with how it turned out. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

Chickie