Thrift shop sweater into hat, mittens, vest????

[pibblestiltskin@ma]

I scored a nice cabled/aran style sweater at a thrift shop for $.99. It is nice, but not a one of a kind, hand knit sweater. I've worn it once and was so uncomfortable, I just do not like heavy bulky sweaters at all. I was thinking that it would make a great hat/ mitten set or maybe a vest type thing which i would find so much more comfortable. Any seamstresses or crafty people out there have any advice before I hack this thing up? I am thinking that the mittens can come from the sleeves, using the cuff and sewing the shape of a mitten in the arm part. Not sure about making a hat or vest? Any ideas?

[simplehome]

A few things I might consider:

--Do you knit? You could harvest the yarn from it, wind it into skeins, wash them and hang to dry to get the curl out of it, and make whatever you want! You could also dye/handpaint the yarn, if it is a light color.

--Make a bag out of it. I've seen some great felted totes made out of old sweaters.

[wombatclay]

I've made lots of stuff out of felted sweaters...honestly I no longer buy felt or knit for felt, I just use the 100% wool sweaters from the thrift store!

I used a book called Warm Fuzzies for my inital inspiration (she has patterns for mittens, hats, scarves, blankets, dresses, messenger bags, toys, etc and my library had a copy of the book ) but you can use a felted sweater just like you would any fabric... so if you find a pattern you like then just follow that.

I've found that it's simplest to use the hemmed ends of the sweater for the hemmed end of your intended item... so for example, lay out your mitten pattern on the sleeve so that the already finished cuff transforms into the mitten's cuff.

Oh, and felt the sweater before you chop it up... that way you'll know exactly how and where the fabric will shrink and you wont have wasted time "guessing" at how much allowance you need. If it's a really thick sweater you might find the final felted fabric is too thick for mittens though... in that case the messenger bag/shopping tote solution is perfect!

Have fun!

[pibblestiltskin@ma]

Thanks! It is already somewhat felted so I am not sure that I could unravel it to get yarn. I will look for that book, and play around with some ideas! I bet it would make a nice tote with the cable stitching and all....

[notwonamesalike]

Originally Posted by wombatclay

I've made lots of stuff out of felted sweaters...honestly I no longer buy felt or knit for felt, I just use the 100% wool sweaters from the thrift store!

I used a book called Warm Fuzzies for my inital inspiration (she has patterns for mittens, hats, scarves, blankets, dresses, messenger bags, toys, etc and my library had a copy of the book ) but you can use a felted sweater just like you would any fabric... so if you find a pattern you like then just follow that.

I've found that it's simplest to use the hemmed ends of the sweater for the hemmed end of your intended item... so for example, lay out your mitten pattern on the sleeve so that the already finished cuff transforms into the mitten's cuff.

Oh, and felt the sweater before you chop it up... that way you'll know exactly how and where the fabric will shrink and you wont have wasted time "guessing" at how much allowance you need. If it's a really thick sweater you might find the final felted fabric is too thick for mittens though... in that case the messenger bag/shopping tote solution is perfect!

Have fun!

I never would have thought to look for Warm Fuzzies at the library - but I see that they have it at my local branch so I just reserved it!

Thanks for the idea! I'm making felt cupcakes for my kiddo.

[captivatedlife]

Hey! I just reserved the book at my library too!