It’s starting to snow again. They say another blizzard is on it’s way.
Which brings us to the big question……should I cook or should I sew?
Hmmmmm…..how ’bout a quick sweater refashion, then perhaps I’ll bake some treats for those patient men in my household.
Ok, now maybe I’ll make that pumpkin cheesecake my husband has been hinting about for weeks.
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The Renegade Seamstress 
You are a never ending magic box of wonderful tricks, Beth. But I’m sure you are told that every day! 🙂
Oh Janine, you just say the nicest things!!! There are so many refashion possibilities out there and just not enough time. 🙂
Wow – i wonder how you come up with all these idea’s!!! This is beautiful!!
Thanks, Shawn! Hope you’re staying warm over there in Minnesota!
Wow, so simple and such creative thinking! I am inspired…
Thanks, Tracy. I’ve had this sweater for quite awhile now just waiting for the right idea. I loved the color and wanted to do something simple. Sewing on the leather was a little more time consuming than I anticipated, but it all worked out in the end. Have a great week!
Beth
I love the sweater. Green is my favorite color. I really want to make one. Thanks for the idea.
Thanks,Brenda! I loved the color, too. That was what made me put it in my thrift store basket. I hope you get a chance to try this. I’d love to see pictures!
Enjoy your week!
Beth
beth, your never ending energy is inspiring….love the green and love the sweater….looking forward to seeing what you do for winter break! miss you
Hey, Mari!!! Found another “Miss you” sticky note on Friday. Every time I find one, I feel like I just got a hug from you!! It’s amazing how you can make me smile, even when you live so far away. Hope you are staying warm up there!! Hugs, Beth
Simple yet chic and beautiful! Thks for the idea!
Thanks, Joelle!
Another very creative design. I am not able to summon the courage to cut into things the way that you do. Do you ever have any failed projects? Will you finish the edges on this sweater, or will they stay intact without any help?
Oh, I have plenty of failed projects! 🙂 Maybe i should have a bloopers post. That might be entertaining. I didn’t finish the edges. It’s interlocked so it won’t fray.
Oh! I was wondering about those cut edges… It’s interlocked? So I’ll have to pay more attention to my sweaters… maybe sacrifice one. Will most sweaters not fray if cut vertically?
Dasante. Kau
Dasante. Kau
SUPER cute as always, Beth! 🙂
Thanks so much!! Enjoy your week!
Beth
cre-a-tive!!!!!!!!!!
Tha-n-k y-ou!
Love it!
Thanks, Joen!
That is super adorable! I now wish I would’ve saved some of the freecycled sweaters, that I donated!
Zhenya
http://beingzhenya.com
It would work with any big sweater. Maybe you’ll find the perfect sweater in all your thrift store travels. Enjoy your week!
Beth
That’s very cool!! I love how that looks. you are just so talented!
It was super easy to do. Sewing on the leather was a little more time consuming than I thought it would be but it wasn’t too bad.
Beth
Re Mother Deer’s comment and your reply above – I would love to see a bloopers post – I’m always afraid to cut into garments, too. I guess I need to get over that … but seeing that someone else doesn’t magically ace every project might be helpful! This sweater refashion is very original and becoming.
I’ll have to check and see if I saved any of the photos from my bloopers. It could actually be a fun post to do. Plus it would be worth it if would help inspire you to take some risks and start cutting. Thanks for all of your encouragement, makes this so much more fun for me.
Have a great week!
Beth
I agree. I, too, have to get over the ‘Darnit, I paid 50 cents for that sweater, and I don’t want to ruin it!’ thought I have each time. haha 😉
I have just found your website and I am REALLY enjoying the gallery upon gallery of projects you have refashioned! Nice work, ma’am.
Super cute Beth! And simple to boot. I love the anticipation of your next refashion!
Thanks! My vacation starts on Thursday, I’m hoping to be busy with lots of refashions.
Ok, Ok, I know I keep saying this, but NEW FAVORITE!!!!
Oh, I hope I can keep delivering. 🙂 I’ve got some projects up my sleeve for my vacation. Starts on Thursday…..stay tuned….
You are tooooooo smart! 🙂
Just havin’ some fun…;)
I really like this but as an inexperienced sewer I want to ask how this washes. Would I need to do anything to the cut seams or would it be ok in the machine? I see so many sweaters that would make great cardigans (I am a cardigan junkie) so this is a great tutorial!
I think it’ll be OK in the wash because it’s a weave like a t shirt. I think it’s called interlock. If you’re concerned about the sweater fraying you could try finishing the edges like I did on this cardigan: https://chicenvelopements.wordpress.com/2011/12/27/my-first-tutorial/
Good luck and let me know how it goes.
Beth
Love it! Thanks for sharing the idea with all of us.
You are so welcome! It’s fun to share it with everyone and hopefully inspire someone else to try it, too.
Brilliant…looks so easy and chic!
Thank you!
Another great idea. It looks a little scary with that first cut. No going back at that point!
That first cut is usually the hardest. You’re right no turning back.
So neat! I’m furiously pinning this one too! Now i need to find a belt like yours 😉
Oh, I hope you find one so you can make this. Super easy!!! I’m already making plans to refashion this refashion by adding another belt and adding some suede patches on the arms. Thanks for “pinning” always fun to see who comes for a visit from Pinterest.
Have a great week!
Beth
So cute! Beth, you’re a genius!!!
Wow, what a nice thing to say, you just made my day, thanks!
Beth
wow, this turned out amazing!! LOVE IT. Great job once again.
Thanks, I think I’m going to refashion this refashion and add some suede patches on the elbows. Just thought of that today.
Enjoy your day!
Beth
The patches would look great…what about a plaid?! That would be fun too.
A plaid is a great idea! I just might have to try that. Thanks for the idea!
Beth
“Should cook or should I sew?” Ah, the eternal question. 🙂
Great job on the sweater, i love the combo of leather & knit, and such a great colour too. Inspiring as always!
Ah, yes, “Should I cook or should I sew?” There is just something about a snowstorm that inspires me to cook. The men in my family wish I my blog focused on cooking instead of sewing. Hmmmm… I wonder why? 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comments. I loved the color, too. I just can’t seem to get enough green lately. Have a great week!
Beth
Yet another great one! I love cardigans but can’t seem to knit fast enough (with Christmas and birthday presents) to give myself a few new ones, this is perfect for that. I’m glad you stated below that the edge needs to be finished our you’ll have a yummy pile of yarn soon. Which for me would me nice too. 😉 Great job as always!
Thank you! I love a good cardigan, too. I think it has an interlock weave (like a t shirt) so I don’t think this particular sweater will unravel. But many sweaters will so I thought I’d give an alternate way to finish it. Have a great week!
Beth
wow! what a transformation… I love it
Thanks so much!
so simple you really only need pictures with a couple of words… I’ll be keeping my eyes open for a little belt like that!!!
Oh I hope you find one so you can make this. So easy and fun!
Too cool! I will never pass by those big sweaters at the sally again!
Oh yes, so many possibilities!
I’m sure you’ve heard this a lot, but let me say it, too. You have the most amazing ideas! You see possibilities that we never knew existed. Thank you.
Thank you, Cheryl! What a nice thing to say! I’m so glad you could come by for a visit. It’s people like you that make this so much fun. Have a great week!
Beth
Love love love this!
Thanks so much Kristin!
I wish you a merry christmas and a wonderful new year.Thank you for shering your blog with wonderful creativity.See you again in 2013.kisses
Happy New Year!
Brilliant idea and wonderful execution! I just love your new sweater!
Thanks so much, Karen!
Very cute and so creative! I wouldn’t have thought to do this to an old sweater. I have a Ralph Lauren sweater jacket that has this same type side leather closure detail, pulling the closure to one side, but there is a tire on the other side to keep it together from both sides (I suppose you could do this as well). I love it and I’ve never found another one like it, but now I have an idea for a few old sweathers of mine! Happy Holidays!
Um, that would be a “tie” on the other side…
Your jacket sounds lovely and I hope you’ll be able to use this tutorial to spruce up some old sweaters of yours. I’d love to see what you make when you’re finished!
Have a great day!
Beth
Just stumbled upon your site. I love it! and it is making me excited to go out thrifting again this weekend for another project. I am a blogger and a teacher as well. I would love it if you would check out my site. It is relatively simple compared to yours but I am looking for feedback and I am totally mystified by a lot of the process. I will keep up with yours regularly!
mpchic.blogspot.com
Thanks for visiting, Mary! I will go and check out your site right now….
very creative for the sweater my daughter out grows but isn’t quite ready to discard them! thanks! : )
Have fun!
Love your ideas! You are so creative! Wishing I could sew!
Thanks, Michelle! It’s never too late to learn to sew…… You just might surprise yourself!
Do you think a turtlenecked sweater would lay alright doing this? I have a camel colored one that the neck is too long on, but this style would be really cute…
Good Morning. I’ve made turtlenecks into cardigans by cutting up the center. It’s fun because the collar neck becomes a sort of sailor collar depending on how tall the turtleneck is. I’ve never tried it with an off center cut and a wrap around. It might be worth a try with an old turtleneck first as an experiment to see what it would look like. My initial thought is to cut off the neck first, but who knows it might be a fun look.
Good luck!
Beth
just found you today from sunny adelaide in australia! You are so talented
Thank you, Itayi!
amazing…. love it.. LOVE IT… THANKS
You are so welcome!
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That’s a great idea to use the buckle! That kind of belt seems to very useful: Once I mades dress straps using the “knitted” part.
Thanks, Salla!
You also had a good idea to use them to make dress straps.
Happy sewing!
Beth
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How does the leather fare if you wash it? How do you wash this item?
Hi Nicole,
Good question! I just hand wash it and keep the leather out of the water.
Let me know if you think of a better way to wash it. New ideas are always welcome here!
Beth
Love it!
Thank you, Laura!
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This is great! How did you stop the sweater from fraying?
I like the idea.. it’s very easy to do. I already add it to my list.. ؛) Thanks
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So what happens to the belt when you wash the sweater?
A very nice idea!!
Hi Beth,
I sure enjoy your tutorials and great ideas. Am so inspired by your work.
I have a boxy crewneck pullover sweater that was my mother’s. It has pretty fine embroidery across the chest that I’d like to preserve, but the sweater is too big in the shoulders and side seams. How could I make it fit smaller?
Thank you for your great blog, Janet Westrup.
Hi Janet,
Thank you so much for your kind words! Your mother’s sweater sounds lovely, here is a tutorial on making a sweater smaller which might work for you. I hope this helps!
Beth
https://chicenvelopements.wordpress.com/2012/10/07/octobers-party-and-an-easy-sweater-refashion/
Love the sweater re-do. BUT how do u stop the knit from running????
Hi Karen. This is a question that I get quite frequently. This particular knit is an interlock knit so it won’t fray. But if you use another kind of sweater, you can finish the edges. The sweaters will give you time to do that. 🙂
My question, too!
So cool to see this have a sweater to do this with do you have to stich ends are can you just but the strap on it
It depends on your sweater. This particular sweater was interlocked so no hemming was necessary. But the sweater you choose might need some hemming.
Greetings,
You’re amazing! On the green sweater, how do you keep stitches from fraying after they’re cut??
I have turtlenecks I want to revive!
Linda
Any tips on putting a zipper up the front of a crew neck or vneck sweater, making a zip up cardigan? I’m having shoulder surgery and need to keep warm with a sling on my arm under the front of one side. I bought a couple sweaters and now I’m not sure how to deconstruct and construct them. Thanks for any help – your ideas are great!
Hi Judy, Here is a link to another cardigan sweater refashion that might be helpful. http://www.ehow.com/ehow-crafts/blog/transform-a-pullover-to-cardigan-sweater-jacket/
Good luck with your surgery.
Beth
Thanks, I did see that one, but wanted a zipper. I did it! Although it’s not a fashion statement, I did a pretty good job, and the two sweaters will get me through the next few weeks when it’s hard to pull something warm over my head. (Can’t figure out how to post a picture of them.
Here’s to a speedy recovery. 🙂
how do you keep the sweater from unraveling where you cut up the front
Hi Denise,
This sweater happened to have an interlocked stitch so I didn’t need to finish it. Here is a link to a way to finish off the edge of your sweater if it’s not interlocked:
I hope this helps,
Beth
Love the sweater remake!
Thank you so much!!!
What a clever idear this is. I am going to do this, know I will love it. Thank you for sharing. My jumper is Black. And my husband has lots of belts so I can start soon
I’d love to see your sweater when you’re finished. 🙂
Neobicno lijepo prakticno.boje lijepo uklopljne BRAVO
Hvala vam.
OMG. You got me excited about sewing again. I’m going to dig out my mother’s 50+ yr old White Sewing Machine. Thank you!
Oh you are so welcome, Sharon!! That is exactly why I do all this, to get you excited about sewing. Thanks for your nice comment, you really knew how to get my day started right. 🙂 Happy Sewing!
Wow, what a fabulous idea, very fashionable! How did you know the material wouldn’t fray?
Thank you Sara! I’ve worked with enough sweaters over the years to know that you have plenty of time to sew a new seam before they will fray. Happy Sewing!
What did you used to sew the leather
? Ordinary sewing machine? Btw, you have some artistic insights.
Thank you! I just used a hand sewing needle .
I like this idea I have to try this
Thank you Benina! I hope you have a chance to try it. 🙂
Love your ideas! I’m a complete sewing knob. Right now I pretty much only hand sew unless I am supervised with the machine although I’m determined to get better! In the mean time, I wonder if you have an existing blog you could link me to, or maybe write a post on how to tell what seams you can/should leave ‘raw’ vs when to finish and how to know what stitch to finish a seam with? I see lots of great ideas but I would love more tips on how to set myself up for simple success! Thanks!
Love your ideas! I’m a complete sewing knob. Right now I pretty much only hand sew unless I am supervised with the machine although I’m determined to get better! In the mean time, I wonder if you have an existing blog you could link me to, or maybe write a post on how to tell what edges you can/should leave ‘raw’ vs when to finish and how to know what stitch to finish a seam/edge with? I see lots of great ideas but I would love more tips on how to set myself up for simple success! Thanks!
Thank you Adriana! Here’s a link to a finishing seams article that might be helpful: https://therenegadeseamstress.com/2014/10/25/six-easy-ways-to-finish-a-seam-without-a-serger-and-another-refashion-handbook-giveaway/
Hi. Thank you for sharing. Very creative. What did you do to stop the stiches from running?
This is great! What stops the sweater from unraveling?
This is brilliant!
Amazing!!!
I’d like to share it on my blog
thank you so much
you are one super talented lady, so fun to see your refashions
Question:
This sweater is a knit, so how it it that it did not ravel on the cut edges?
Cute
Thank you!
Ingenious! I just discovered this kind of repurposing. I happened to have bought a couple sweaters for a grandaughter at 30$ a pc that suspiciously looks similar, lol. Live/learn, 😐😚.
Thank you Gayle!
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Such a fun sweater idea. Love this.
Thank you!
I’m afraid to cut my sweater. Won’t it unravel?
Was it necessary to do anything to keep the sweater from unraveling where you cut it? Seems like I’m missing something.