I found this cardigan at the Community Aid store for $2. It originally had big gold buttons down the front side. See the before.
I added the gathered floral chiffon to the inside opening of the cardigan. See tutorial. Then I finished it off by adding the natural woven trim.
I really love it. I wore it to pick up Lily at school today and felt totally stylish. I love the way the gathered chiffon pops up at the nape of the neck. It gives the cardigan a touch of sophistication.
1. First I cut 6" wide pieces of floral chiffon and sewed the together.
2. I then folded the long piece in half lengthwise and gathered it at the raw edges.
3. I then took the ruffled piece and sewed it to the wrong side of the cardigan's opening.
4. I then sewed the trim on next to the ruffle and removed the gold buttons with a seam ripper.
53 {comments}:
I absolutely love this series you're doing, I can't wait to try making over sweaters now! :) You're so creative!
Thanks for your hard work!
absolutely fabulous!!!!!!!!!
Holy cow! I think this is my favorite yet! How did you get the fabric to ruffle?
Wow! I love this! The chiffon is amazing!
You're just too good! Do you usually have a stash of these trims and things that you use or do you get them separately for each project?
This is gorgeous and you look amazing.
I LOVE this one! Definitely my favorite so far.
I have an old sweater that I thought I would make into a cardigan and dress up a bit after reading some of these posts, but when I got dug it out of the recesses of my dresser I discovered that the sleeves are too tight! Don't suppose you have a solution for that huh?
This is lovely.
really enjoying your embellishment projects, very inspiring :)
http://fashbrickroad.blogspot.com/
I absolutely love this! Gorgeous! Just this morning was thinking of making a bolero with similar ruffle style for my daughter. Love it!
I always love checking your blog everyday because I learn so many ideas from you. I love to go to rummage sales and find stuff that I know has potential. I have this black sweater that looks like this, maybe I can do something with it. Thanks again!
This is my favorite one too! Very pretty.
I LOVE this one! It is absolutely perfect, I want one for myself!!
I LOVE this one! It is absolutely perfect, I want one for myself!!
This one is my favorite so far! Love the chiffon at the collar.
I'm usually not a big fan of long cardigans but you convinced me! Next time I go to a charity shop I'll see if they have any!
Am I the only one totally obsessed with these posts??
This series has given me so much inspiration! This is my favorite so far - it's gorgeous!
Do you have a short-sleeve sweater makeover in the future? I bought some thrifted sweaters to make leg-warmers for my little girl, and then I'll have these short-sleeve sweaters to turn into fun cardigans (because they're too small for me).
That trim is beautiful!
MayMade,
I do both. Sometimes if I see something that catches my eye I snatch it up. But if I have something in mind for another thing I'll go with a specific item in mind. Although that isn't always fun. It's a bummer when you can't find what you're looking for.
Carolyn,
Are they long sleeves? Perhaps you could trim them to above your elbow to make short sleeves.
If you like the long sleeved look perhaps you could wash it in cold water and take it out, stretch it and let it air dry. I guess it really depends on what kind of material it is made out of. Man-made materials don't shrink which is good but they don't stretch that well either.
Oh, I love this one. All the blues mingling together and the chiffon... so romantic without looking hard to wear.
absolutely beautiful! i want to be able to make one just like this.
I love this one. It's my favourite that you've done so far!
So wonderful! I can't wait to try some of these out!
this one is my favorite ,you are so brilliant :)
I'm a beginner and I'm a little lost between steps 1 and 2. How many 6" long pieces of chiffon did you cut for Step 1, and how did you sew them together (at the ends or along the sides?)? Also, I haven't ever ruffled before :) Could you show how you did the gathering? I love this whole series - thanks so much for the inspiration!!
This week has been VERY inspiring for me, this is my favorite so far.
I want to hit Goodwill HARD for some sweaters!
They keep getting better!
This is totally my favorite so far!
GORGEOUS!
Hi! I love your blog, it always features such beautiful clothes and you make it look so easy... and you have great taste aswell! I am loving this series you're making on the embelished knits... it already gave me so many ideas on how to jazz up my boring cardigans! Thank you :) Sabi @ boladepensamento.blogspot.com
I think this is beautiful. I want one!! lol it may be a good project for my mom and I. Thank you!
Love this idea! Question, if you sewed the chiffon to the inside of the cardi did you cover the raw edge at all? Will it fray when it's washed?
It's so lovely Kathleen. You do amazing work with these knitted sweaters. Cute!
I hadn't thought of cutting the sleeves shorter. I think I'll try stretching it wet first and if that doesn't work I'll try cutting it.
Thanks!
This is gorgeous. It's been interesting to see how you've improved all of your sweaters but this particular one is something I'm actually going to try. I look forward to seeing what else you come up with.
This is absolutely adorable!! I'm truly inspired by your blog!!!
This is my favorite embellishment so far! I love how the ruffled chiffon looks. This series is making me look at my boring sweater bin in a whole new light...
These are all beautiful, and so inspiring! I will definitely be referring to these tutorials in the future.
I am totally in awe of your talent your vision and imagination, I am LOVING all these embellished knits you have absolutely inspired me! I am even going to rant about you at my craft group and maybe we could all attempt one of your creations. Thanks again!! :)
beautiful and smart like everything you do!:)
My goodness! This is just beautiful, and it seems so simple. Thank you so much for putting in the extra hard work it takes to share all your hard work with us. :)
Do you think cotton fabric would work for the ruffle instead of chiffon?
(I love all your site!)
krista
I really like this one, and I'm not usually a ruffle girl!
my favorite embellish so far :D i can't wait for the rest of the entries for this month! :)
This might be my fav so far but hard to choose!
Very cool :) you have inspired me to start working on my old knits too :)
This one is so pretty! I love the trims that you used- such a nice touch of charm.
So I tried this one at home and ended up with a chiffonsplosion of frayed bits everywhere. I am about as novice as they get - any suggestions to stop/prevent the chiffon from fraying like crazy? Thanks!
Lori,
I'd recommend one of two things. Either before you sew on the chiffon use a zigzag stitch to encase the ends. In fact, do this twice. OR use nylon chiffon. It does not fray. I just bought some myself yesterday.
If you're looking for a solid colored fabric you can buy nylon chiffon here:
http://www.afc-express.com/nylon-chiffon.html
It's only $1.59 a yard.
Patterned nylon chiffon is a bit harder to find. You could always use a patterned sweater and solid color chiffon.
Or just do the zigzag thing.
I just found some animal print chiffon here:
http://www.afc-express.com/neanprch.html
Actually that might make a pretty cool pettiskirt. Makes me want to try it.
Hooray, thank you!
SO cute!!!
I did have a bag of sweaters I was about to donate because I haven't worn them recently - not anymore!!! I am a newbie sewer but can't wait to try out some of your ideas. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
Jess
www.jbeedelightful.blogspot.com
I did have a bag of sweaters I was about to donate because I haven't worn them recently - not anymore!!! I am a newbie sewer but can't wait to try out some of your ideas. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!
Jess
www.jbeedelightful.blogspot.com
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