No-Sew Sweater Refashion

 Hello Readers. Have you ever washed a wool sweater by accident? I think we all have. It is awful to shrink a favorite sweater and not be able to wear it. My sister-in-law shrunk this navy blue sweater. She passed it on to me knowing I would make something new out of it. (Thanks J!) It was a free hand-me-down that fit well into my plan to refashion for free in 2021. 

The sweater was so shrunken that I couldn't even get my arms into the sleeves without a serious fight. 

 

The first thing I did was cut the sleeves off the sweater. They were too small so they had to go. Since my sister-in-law washed this sweater the wool tightened and shrunk. That means I can cut the material and it will not fray. People wash sweaters on purpose so they can make things out of the felted (washed) wool. You can see more in this old post where I made a bag from a shrunken wool sweater. 

I also decided to go all out and have fun with this sweater. I cut a scalloped edge along the bottom hem. I wanted the sweater to be shorter so I decided to make it different from anything I already have in my closet. No hem is needed because the wool won't fray.

I liked how the scalloped edge looked and cut the same edge at the collar. 

 I also added a button to close the front. I wanted to get more of a vest shape. I used a needle and thread to attach a button from my sewing stash. I cut a tiny hole for the button to come through. Did I make an official button hole? No. I don't need to because the material is so tightly woven and shrunk together. 

The new vest was soft and warm. That is a big plus because it is colder than cold where I live. It hurts my face when I go outside. The wind is like a slap across the face today. I am looking forward to spring.

I like how the big scalloped collar turned out.

This will be a nice layering piece. It is warm and the scalloped edge makes it fun.

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself. 

***Chickie's Year End Review-I loved the scalloped edges of this little sweater. It got very little lint balls all over and I need one of those shavers for sweaters so I can fix it up.