Dressember #2-The Sweater Skirt

 Hello Readers. It is super chilly out there and you might be thinking it's too cold for a dress or skirt. But if you wear snuggly warm fabrics you can stay cozy and warm all winter. Today I am focused on heavy sweaters. I found this striped sweaters at a clothes swap. Men's sweaters are great for refashion projects. 

Before and after.

This is a men's sweater and it is large on me. That gives me a little extra fabric to work with. You can find men's sweaters at clothes swaps and thrift stores. You can also cruise Amazon for men's sweaters. (Not a paid ad, just an idea.)

I cut the body of the skirt away from the shoulders and sleeves of the sweater. This will be my new skirt.

I had a plan to hem the cut edge and I describe that here. 

After I used my serger on the cut edge (White thread.) I turned it under and used a zigzag stitch (Purple thread.) to stitch the hem in place. It was a little bumpy and wonky so I ironed it smooth.

I loved the new skirt. The waistband of the sweater was a perfect soft stretchy waistband for my skirt. 

I am not done with this sweater. I also cut the sleeves off. I had an idea for those too.

I was going to make mittens from those sleeves. The wrist cuff would still be the wrist cuff but my hand would be inside the sleeve. I traced (With 1/2" extra room around my hands.) my hands with chalk and cut out the mitten shapes. I cut 2 mitten shapes for each hand.

I used my serger to close up the cut edges. I stitched with the mittens inside out and then when I was done sewing I flipped them right side out and they were ready to wear. 

There was enough material at the neckline to make a kid pair of mittens too. I cut and stitched them together the same way.

Did my youngest like his homemade mittens? He really did! And they were nice for walking on a cold windy day. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year End Note From Chickie- It's only been a few weeks but I can't waist to wear this again.