“October gave a party;The leaves by hundreds came – The Chestnuts, Oaks, and Maples, And leaves of every name. The Sunshine spread a carpet, And everything was grand, Miss Weather led the dancing, Professor Wind the band.”
Author: ~George Cooper, “October’s Party”
I love fall.
I love sweaters, soup, football, leaves, fires, and all that comes with the cooler weather.
This thrift store sweater was the perfect color to bring my newly refashioned skirt into fall.
But it was too big.
The wrong fit is such a common problem with thrift store clothing, but that is something that can be fixed quickly and easily.
This was a wonderful Pendleton sweater and on their website, there was a similar cable sweater for $138.00.
All you have to do is be brave and start cutting, pinning and sewing.
And for fifty cents I have a beautiful Pendleton sweater to go with my refashioned skirt.
You might also like:
The Renegade Seamstress 
Beautiful remake on this sweater.
I’m going to try this
I hope you get a chance to try it. It’ll open up a whole new world of sweater possibilities. 🙂
Beth
I have a few sweaters that could use your magic touch! I may just need to be brave and do them myself!
Just take a deep breath, grab your scissors, start cutting, and let the magic begin. You may surprise yourself. Seriously, if I can do this, anyone can!
Beth
LOVE the sweater . . . AND the poem! 🙂
Thanks so much! There is just something about autumn……. 🙂
I love it, too! 🙂 Oh, and I posted my newest kindergarten books on my blog this weekend! Wish I lived close enough to come read them to your class! 🙂
I wish you did, too. Wouldn’t that be fun! I’ll head over there right now and check them out.
Very nice AND you make it look sew easy!
Thank you, Sarah!
I love that! I would love for you to post it at my SHOW-licious Sunday Craft Showcase! http://sewliciousdecor.wordpress.com/
Thanks for the invitation Marti. I think I just linked up.
Beth
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It’s too dang cute now.
I went to an estate sale this weekend and there were sooooooo many amazing garments but they were huge. They needed you to refashion them.
Paula
Ohhhhhh, I wish I could’ve been there. How fun!
Beth
I love your site and all that you do. I am resizing sweaters and other clothes for orphans in Kenya. We are going back Tenwek Hospital in December and will give orphans more than 60 dresses and skirts and sweaters that I refashioned. I always read your site as far back as I can go to get ideas. Thank You So Much!
Good Morning Lynn,
What a wonderful thing for you to do! I’m honored that I’m helping this cause in a small way. Good luck and keep on refashioning!
Beth
You went from your sweater saying OL (old lady) to chic! 🙂 Great refashion.
Thanks!
I never would have attempted this – especially with a Pendeleton sweater. But you have given me courage – lovely makeover. When you pinned up the shoulder to re-size the armhole, my brain just went: Of Course.
Oh Evalyn, thanks for your words of encouragement!
Very smart refashion. That would be $5 at my thrift store; for 50 cents it is a steal. I have sweaters I bought at conventional stores that are too big in the shoulders and armholes that could use the same tailoring techniques. Time to get brave and start cutting!
Yep, just take a deep breath and start….. 🙂
One of my favorite poems from one of my favorite people
Aw Jakki, you’re so sweet. Thanks for the awesome salted caramels today. AMAZING!
Beth
Great job! Those “little” sweaters are so convenient and nice to have in different colors, especially now that the weather is a little cooler.
Thanks, Daisy! I’ve got several more thrift store sweaters just begging me for a refashion. Lots of fun colors for fall.
Beth
You did a lovely job on this. You’ve given me courage to start refashioning too. At the price of thrift clothing, it’s really not a big problem if the first ones don’t turn out, but your directions are very helpful. My biggest issue is pinning the sweater – I do not have a dressmaking form so there is a lot of trying on that has to happen 🙂
I should have said, pinning the garment (not just sweaters!)
Thanks so much, Jo. If you have someone around to help, you could just put the sweater on inside out and have them pin it for you. Have fun and let me know how it turns out.
Beth
I REALLY need to figure out how to use my fancy previously owned sewing machine. Then maybe I can restyle something pretty too.
Oh, I can’t wait to see what you make!!
Beth
Truly a talented seamstress. Like all masters at your craft….you assume because it’s easy for you, we can all do it. What you have, my dear, is talented eyes and talented fingers. But you certainly make it look easy enough….what the heck….I’m inspired to give it a go!
So many nice compliments, thank you so much! If I inspire you to try this…..then that’s the biggest compliment of them all! Please let me know if you do try something, I’d love to see what you make!!!
Happy Saturday!
Beth
Hi there! It’s been a while since I wanted to start sweater refashions, but I’m afraid the garment will unravel. Did you use an ordinary, straight stitch? Did everything keep in place?
See you! 🙂
Hi Anabel,
Yes, everything stayed in place. This is probably the question I get asked the most. I didn’t have any problem with the sweater unraveling and I used a regular straight stitch. Hope this helps!
Beth
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Ok. So what do you do if the sleeves are too small? I cannot find anything anywhere addressing that issue. Your help would be much appreciated. Thanks 🙂
Hi Heather, there are several things you can do if your sleeves are too small. You could actually replace them with new sleeves, or you could open them up at the seams and add a piece. If they are too small in the length, perhaps you could add a cuff from another shirt. Hope that helps.
Happy Sewing,
Beth
Thanks, Beth. The sleeves are too small round my arms. It is hard because it is a sweater, like a thin knit. It’s white and it’s actually really very pretty. It’s a cardigan and I picked it up at Kohl’s and it lace on the hem on the bottom but it just doesn’t fit round my arms but fits fine otherwise. Sometimes I have problems with the arms. Would you suggest sticking any old fabric in there or should I find one that matches? Or I could I pack it up and send it to you, lol, because I am a horrid seamstress 🙂 Thanks again 🙂
Hi Heather,
What if you cut the top of the sleeve from the wrist to the shoulder and inserted a piece of lace? Or maybe you could do this sleeve treatment:
https://chicenvelopements.wordpress.com/2013/01/05/an-easy-t-shirt-refashion/
or this:
https://chicenvelopements.wordpress.com/2013/08/15/life-is-trying-things-to-see-if-they-work-shirt-redesign-tutorial/
I’d love to see what you end up doing with it.
Beth
Those are all great ideas! I will have to see what I have in my arsenal lolz but if I don’t have enough matching buttons I may see if I have some lace to sew in on the tops of the sleeves, you know, to match the lace hanging on the bottom of the hem. Sure, I will definitely show you it turns out. Should I do a blog post on it or should I email it to you? What’s the best way to get a picture to you?
Hi Heather,
You can send a picture to me at bhunting@eoni.com. I’d love to see it.
Beth
Very cute! Did you remember to save the extra button sewn to the seam that you cut off when you trimmed your sweater? 🙂
Thanks and yes, I have jars and jars of saved buttons. It’s hard for me to get rid of things because I might need it someday. 🙂
I have made sweaters tighter on the side seams but never tried resetting a sleeve. Did you use the same method you would do for any other fabric? I think it would come out very stretched. Do you have a tutorial or a picture of how you did it?
Rita
Hi Rita,
Yes, I used the same method as other fabric and it didn’t come out stretched. You can see how I did it here: https://therenegadeseamstress.com/2015/04/12/this-mornings-television-debut/
Click on 8:26 and that’s where it’ll start.
Thanks so much for your question!
Beth
Thank you so much for your fabulous instruction photos and the encouragement to be brave and start cutting!
Hello Renegade! You must be an October baby too! I loved the poem and have to share it with my grandkids too. I also love your creative mind and beautiful work turning “trash into treasure.” I am sure Miss Weather and Professor Wind appreciate your work on behalf of the planet, as do I. I’m going to look at old clothing as a new fabric source, thanks to you. All the best to you, I look forward to more of your projects!
Thank you Lou for your nice comment! It’s always nice to know that what I’m doing is helpful or inspiring to someone. Happy refashioning and I’d love to see some of your projects, too. 🙂
Just got your book and love it. I learned this tip recently for too large neck neckline. Open the shoulder seam to the sleeve. Open the sleeve seam slightly.. Kind of make a dart. Sew from the sleeve to the neckline about two inches wide. By not cutting through the sleeve cap you can easily reattach the sleeve to the adjusted sleeve. So far I have fixed two knitted items.
Thank you for your great tip Mary!!
This Post is an old one but maybe you could still answer a question. How come you couldn’t just go up the side seam and then start curving around the armpit to blend into the arm? Why do you have to cut off and reattach the arm? I’m glad to see you are sewing it with a machine. I thought maybe the seam would look wavy and not may real flat. I was going to do my sweater by hand with some embroidery floss or something.
That’s supposed to say “lay real flat”
Hi Janis,
Good question.
I cut off the sleeves and reattached them so the shoulder would fit better. I hope this helps.
Beth