crochet lace

Sweater Refashion

November 3, 2013 By Mary Peterson 57 Comments

Hi Everyone!

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Here you see a hard-won victory. It is my latest sweater refashion inspired by the picture you see right below it. It is not exactly the same, but I think I came pretty close.

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I thought this would be relatively easy for me to do, but I was easily fooled. Having said that, I have to apologize for what will be the lackluster tutorial. Making this was a blur and it went through so many changes. I/you will have to put up with a tutorial that simply documents those changes and here it is…

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It all started with this crochet tablecloth which I purchased for $15 at Community Thrift. I thought the price was rather outrageous since it had some stains, but as I have said before, this is LA and they go for the jugular out here!

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1)I draped and played with the tablecloth for days until I came up with a plan of attack. Here is my first step. I cut out the middle being careful to cut along landmarks of the crochet to maximize finished edges.

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2)Here is the first drape of the front…

and the back…

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3) Once I got to this point, I crocheted the back and the side seams together using a single crochet stitch. I cut and pinned the hem around the front and back so only the shell stitch was showing

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3) My next step was to attach the shell pattern all around the hem

Here is a view of the front and back after I was finished. A shell stitch was added around the sleeve and I did have to refit the back a second time.

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Well, that’s it! What do you think? I love to hear from you!!!

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‘Til next time!

Love Ya,

Mary

Sweater Refashion #2

February 24, 2013 By Mary Peterson Leave a Comment

Hi Everyone,

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I had such fun with the last sweater refashion that I had to do another. The biggest problem with this refashion was that I accidentally trashed my picture of the BEFORE and I was already too far into the refashion to go back. Check out the transformation and the final product below.

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At this point you can still see the BEFORE. It was a never worn, 100% cotton sweater that cost me $4.99 from Goodwill. It had long sleeves, a button front, and a fold over lapel collar. Very boring!

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I wanted to make it into shaped cardigan with a scalloped edge and 3/4 sleeves.

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So, I purchased some cotton lace in a matching color and applied it to the sweater with a chain stitch. Once the lace was set, I used the serger to take off the excess and crocheted down the raw edges from the inside to give it a finished look inside and out. I also shaped the side seams to fit using the same technique.

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Here it is before I cut off the sleeves.

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Here it is finished! I am really happy with the way it turned out and I am ready for more…
I would love to hear your comments.

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Happy Refashioning!

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Mary

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My First Sweater Refashion!

February 16, 2013 By Mary Peterson 8 Comments

This sweater started out as a 1X beauty. It cost $4.99 at Goodwill and appeared to have never been worn.

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I took off the sleeves and cut a significant amount out of the body. Then I crocheted it back together. Finally, I crocheted lace around the bottom and the sleeves. Check out some close up images of the transformation below.

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As I mentioned, I took off the sleeves first. Then I pinned the side seams to fit. After I took off the excess with the serger, I used a chain stitch to crochet the sides back together.

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I have bags of lace from my former days as a sweater designer (long time ago) and fashion designer for a number of children’s manufacturers. I was and still am a fabric and trim collector. After all, I could use it all someday! LOL! This choice was a perfect fit.

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This sweater goes well with leggings and jeans. Yesterday I wore it with leggings as you see here. For the outside, I wore it with a jean jacket and a black and white scarf.