Upcycle a Sweater into a Hat (or two.. or three)

I just made this stocking cap from a thrift store sweater.  I'm a thrift store junkie.  I love to browse through aisles of cast off items and imagine them repurposed and given a new life. 

One item I like to look for especially is an acrylic sweater with a nice finished edge and a woven design near the hem.  I can usually get two hats out of a sweater, sometimes three (depending on the size of the arms.) 

Acrylic knit doesn't unravel easily and can be cut and worked with with little trouble or mess.

I forgot to take a photo of the whole sweater before I started cutting away, but here you see that I've cut two square pieces, slicing down the middle of the sweater.  In this way, I can use a side seam as one finished seam to the hat.  I had also already cut off the arms.  I have enough here for two hats.

This is the website I use to determine how big the had should be at the finished edge: http://www.bevscountrycottage.com/size-chart.html#hat  In this case the finished hat is 20" circumference.

The easiest hat to make is to turn a bowl upside down on the square and create a rounded top, leaving the bottom edge finished.  Just sew up one side and over the curve at the top and you have a nice ski cap!  In the photo to the left you see the wrong side of another hat where I'd rounded the corners.

From the sweater I bought today, though, I thought I'd use the arms as part of the hat and make stocking caps!  Let me show you how...

First sew up the side opposite the already finished side seam from the sweater.  Make sure to catch in any loose threads and finish the seam.  Sergers work nicely here.  I'd use one if I had one!  When you are finished with the seam, tack the seam down to one side to give the edge a more finished look.

Now you have the bottom edge already finished thanks to the sweater manufacturer and you have two side seams.  If you cut your square deep enough, you could gather the top  on the inside and add a pom pom and be done.  However, we are going to use the arm to make a stocking end of this hat.

Place the arm inside the hat, right sides together.  You may have to stretch it a bit to make it fit.  Sew and finish the seam.

Keeping that hat wrong side out, gather the edge of the stocking part (the wrist of the sleeve) and secure it tightly.

















After getting this far, I decided I'd like a little more thickness over the ears so I turned the edge to the inside about 4 inches and sewed it down.  Now whoever wears this hat will have very warm ears!

Turn the hat right side out and add a pom pom.  Voila! Stocking cap that looks (almost) like you knitted it!

Just in case you need a little reminder how to make a pom pom:

Wrap yarn around a card until very thick- about 35-50 times.  I used a card from a seam binding package.  The card should be almost twice as long as you want the width of the finished pom pom to be.









Carefully slide the loops off of the card and tie them tightly in the middle with the same yarn.

Cut the loops and trim about 1/3 of the yarn off of the pom pom until you have a fairly tight little ball.

Do you have any other uses for an old sweater?  Please share them with us!

Fabric Remnants = Inspiration

odd and ends

The other day I was looking for inspiration for my next project.

While rummaging through some fabric stashed in a drawer I found several red flannel plaid pieces I'd planned on using for newsboy hats, some corduroy left over from a pair of overalls I made earlier and some tulle from a Halloween project.  Later I also found a cotton print of red plaid moose scattered on a black field.

I played around with ideas such as a baby grab ball or some kind of moose in a tulle tutu  (which I may still do!).

However, in a box on a shelf I have some vintage patterns.  So I took down the box and flipped through the envelopes.  A 50's pattern for a crinoline caught my attention.  It had rows of ruffles on a full circle skirt, perfect for the quarter yards of fabric I had on  hand.

I ended up with this creation- a corduroy skirt with a moose ruffle and a flannel plaid ruffle, layered over 4" eyelet lace.

I'm going to take this skirt to a craft fair in a few weeks and see what people think.  What will you make from your left overs?  I'd love to see the result of your inspirational remnants!

Tube Turning Tip

One of the joys of sewing for all age groups is making a fabric tube and then turning it inside out.  I've been known to double fold and sew the edge rather than face the daunting task of getting a small tube to thread through itself.  I'll bet you share this frustration!

Tube turning gadget

Today, I faced that task yet again as I was turning the strap on a fleece muff.  I have this handy little gadget to help me turn a tube, but often there is nothing to fasten the top hook to.  I've tried making a thread loop and I have even been known to make a hole in the seam to thread the hook through.  Today though I thought of a new and much better method.  I hope you'll think so, too.

hook at the top of the gadget

You'll need to use your imagination on the first part which is to insert the gadget into one end of the unturned tube first until the hook on the top comes through the other end.  I forgot to photograph that step!
Hold on to the loop handle as you insert it and make sure it doesn't get lost inside the tube.  Most tubes are small enough that wouldn't be a problem, but this tube was wider than most.

Hook the gadget to a safety pin woven through the seam allowance

This time I fastened a safety pen through the seam allowance- weaving it through so it would hold without tearing the fleece.  Then I hooked the gadget to the safety pin and pulled.  Wow! That was the fastest tube turn I've ever done!  As long as you have a safety pin small enough to slide through your tube, this tip should work for you, too.

and pull!

I'd love to hear  your tips for sewing for children.  I'm looking for guest bloggers. Leave a comment and you could be posting your tip here, too!