Blizzard Beanies and Gloves

Hello Readers. We are still in the middle of Snowpocalypse 2016. SNOW EVERYWHERE!! It inspired my project today. We were snowed in so I had time to think about the cold and how much I wanted a new wool blend beanie hat. I wanted simple and warm. Free wouldn't be bad either.

I started with this pink sweater from a clothes swap. I don't wear much pink. It's just so...pink. It isn't my favorite color. A little pink is great, a lot of pink is too much. I knew it would be cute and warm as a hat. It is part wool. Wool is really warm so it would be nicer than some cheap acrylic hat from a discount store. And I couldn't go anywhere, I needed a project.

Here is the first step. I cut off the ends of the arms and the bottom of the sweater. I figured I could make two beanies out of this. My daughter would love a beanie hat. And it would keep her warm while we shoveled out the cars. We were working and taking breaks to rest and dry off. An extra hat would be a blessing.

Step two was stitching them up and cutting off the excess. I rounded the tops of the hats. The material is very stiff, but it went through my sewing machine fine. I didn't take the time to try to iron the new seams. They worked without it.

Here we are in our finished hats looking out at all the cold snow we had to shovel. These are nice and warm. Perfect!

What did I do with the sleeves of the sweater? I played around with making a mitten/glove hybrid. I wanted my fingertips and thumb to stick out because I always take my gloves off to use my phone. These do the job, but lack style. I stitched between each finger and that helped keep my fingers warm. These aren't for shoveling or playing in the snow, just staying warm on a normal day.

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

The Patriotic Purse

Hello Readers. Today's project isn't even mine. My daughter made this purse for a sweet lady and proud military mom named Teresa. 

Teresa and her mother found this one of a kind flag purse. They both thought it was cute.

She realized when she got home it was made from a sweater that she already owned. She commissioned my daughter to make a copy so she and her mom could both have one. My daughter's  plan was to cut off the arms and use the body for the purse, just like the original.

She found some coordinating fabrics for lining and got to work.

Here is a view of the back of the purse. It is just the back of the sweater. The bottom edge of the sweater became the top and she added a zipper to close it.

She whipped up a couple matching wallets too,

Her finished purse is a bit different from the original so they won't get them mixed up.

The No-Sew Brown Vest

Hello Readers. My project today is a vest I made from polo shirt or golf shirt. Whatever you want to call it. It was handed down to me from a friend with tags still on! (Thanks Becky!)

I didn't take a before picture. I am so sorry, it looked just like this shirt, trust me.

I cut the arms and collar off. I cut the bottom hem off too.

It was Christmas time and I was feeling too full of cookies. I wanted something loose and flowing to cover the extra lumps and bumps that came from all the goodies I had been eating.

I cut down the middle and curved the sides up along the bottom hem.

I wore it to see the latest movie that was out. I will let you guess what it was.

It was great, Thanks for reading, now go make something fabulous for yourself.

Winter Gear From A Sweater

Hello Readers. It is getting cold and wintery out there. You know what you need? Things to keep you warm. Hats, scarves, mittens and even leg warmers. You have an old sweater somewhere you can use for this project, I know you do. You can even make these for someone else. They will be happy to have these as a gift to keep them cozy. As happy as the lovely lady in this picture.

She is super happy!

I saw this on Facebook and decided to try it myself. I started with a big soft cowl neck sweater. It will be all cut up when we are finished.

I cut the neck off the sweater just under the seam binding it to the body of the sweater. Depending on the sweater it may not need to be stitched up on the end. The seam may keep it all together for you.  This is the scarf. I cut the arms off as well. These will be the leg warmers.

You can use your hands as a guide to cut out the mittens from each side. The bottom hem of the sweater is going to be the wrist of each mitten. There should be enough in the middle to cut out a hat. You need to put the good sides or outsides so they face each other and stitch the raw edges together.

Is it just me or do the finished pieces look like a little man?

Here we are all finished and modeled by my sister-in-law. I gave these to her for her birthday.

Thanks for reading, now go make something fabulous for yourself. Or someone else.