The Sporty Sweater

My daughter gave me this sweater and I liked it. It was simple and white would match anything. But these sleeves! My hands have disappeared and the overall length of the sweater is a bit long on me.

I had some bits and pieces to help me refashion this white sweater. I had these pieces in my stash of scraps.

I cut the cuffs and waistband off this blue sweatshirt. It was a little too short on me. It is perfect to cut up and make something else. Sweatshirts are knit material and will not fray when you cut them. It makes them easy to work with.

When I was ready to sew I cut about 3 inches off the sweater sleeves and put the blue cuff around the sleeve. I put the raw cut edges of the sweater and the raw cut edges of the blue cuff on top of each other. After I sewed around the sleeve edges I will flip the blue cuff down. (Don't cut the sweater until you are ready to add the cuffs on. The sweater will fray, you want to sew it right away.)

I used a wide zigzag stitch for this part. I wanted to connect the sweater and the wrist cuff and close those cut edges at the same time. A serger would work for this too. I don't know why I didn't use mine but either will work.

Here is the cuff connected to the sweater. The zigzag stitch on the edge will hold the sweater and the cuff together, keep the sweater seam from fraying.

Here is the cuff flipped down. This is how it will look when I wear it.

I cut a few inches off the bottom of the sweater and attached the waistband in the same way that I attached the cuffs. After attaching the cuffs and waistband you can top stitch these seams if you want. That would help make these seams lay flat. I just stitched right at the seam on the outside of the shirt. Use a straight stitch for this part. Sometimes this is called "stitch in the ditch".

I attached the gray hood by sewing along the neck of the sweater. I didn't cut the sweater at the neck so it won't fray. I just stitched the hood on. I made sure the hood was inside the sweater and stitched over both of them.

My new sweater had shorter sleeves and a shorter body. I liked the little pops of color. It makes the sweater more fun and the hood has a sporty look. This sweater could easily be cropped shorter if that is the look you want. Happy sewing to you!

Chickie