Re-Sizing and Dressing Up a Goodwill Sweater

I owe a huge hug of gratitude to Kathleen at Grosgrain Fabulous. She posted 30 days of sweater embellishments on her blog. In those tutorials she took the most ho-hum sweaters from Goodwill and turned them into Cinderella-worthy tops. 

Because of her inspiring transformations, I was able to re-vamp two sweaters for the Blissdom conference, saving my bank account some precious pennies. (I used the savings to buy two pairs of cute PJs. Apparently PJs are mandatory after conference hours.)

And now, on to the transformation!

I started by resizing the sweater per Kathleen's tutorial HERE.

Put the sweater on inside out and pin excess starting under the arm and ending at the hip.

 

Carefully (very carefully unless you want to become a pin cushion) remove the sweater. Stitch along the pinned line. 

Put the sweater back on to check the fit. 

If it looks good, go ahead and trim off the excess. (This reminds me of a nip and tuck surgery. {Sigh} If only trimming fat was this easy.)

Next, grab some of those adorable felt roses we made the other day. (Rose tutorial HERE)  Lay them onto the sweater and play with the placements.

When you are happy with the roses, pin them on with safety pins.

Sew on the roses with needle and thread.
And remove the safety pin once the rose is secure.

That's it. Beautiful new cardigan from a $3 Goodwill sweater!

I added a knit belt that I sewed some roses and a hook and eye clasp on.

Poor Buddy (aka Pretty Handy Dog), he's not so sure about me leaving for Blissdom tomorrow.

Check out some more Goodwill and thrift store fashionista outfits at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

Felted Wool Roses Tutorial

Y'all are so sweet to welcome Buddy onto my blog. I appreciate your kind comments and encouragement to include some of my personal life. There was not a single comment asking me to "stick to business."

But, getting back to business, I have the felted wool roses tutorial for you today.

Last week when I saw THIS ADORABLE WREATH that Stephenie made. I knew that I wanted to make my own roses.

You need to start with a 100% wool sweater (or other wool fabric). Run it through your washing machine using hot water and then dry it on a medium or high heat setting. When you open the dryer you will find a shrinky dink version of the sweater (raise your hands if you remember Shrinky Dinks! Click HERE to learn how to make your own.)

Grab a pair of sharp scissors and a round object. I used a can of chicken and a cereal bowl for slightly larger ones.

Trace a circle around your round object. As you can tell, I like to use those slivers of leftover soap.

Cut out the circle.

Start from the edge of your circle and cut a spiral towards the center of your circle. Try to keep the rows consistent, but it is okay if they aren't. You can give your rose a "haircut" in the end if needed.

At the center, leave a small circle.

Grab the outside starting point of your spiral and begin to roll the wool. Keep rolling until you reach the end.

 

 

 

 

To secure the rose, use some needle and thread to sew several passes back and forth through the center of the rose.

(I've used contrasting thread so you can see the stitches, but you should use coordinating thread for a cleaner look.)

Here is a video tracing the stitching pattern I used. Pretend that you don't notice the radioactive shape I'm about to draw. I guess it could be worse (like a devil symbol?)

If you want to learn how to turn these into roses on a stem, click HERE.

If you will be securing your roses to a flat surface, continue reading:

Lay down the flap and stitch around the edges to secure it.

And you are done! Here is the size of the finished rose in comparison to the can I used as my circle template. About half the size, wouldn't you say?

Now posted: a tutorial for felted rose stems and embellishing a Goodwill sweater with roses. I can't wait to show you them!

In the meantime, what could you do with these adorable roses?

Felted Wool Rose Wreath

Felted Rose Adorned Knit Hat

Goodwill Pants Make a Cute Bucket Liner

 

Hidey-ho my bloggios. I'm in a giddy mood this morning. The kiddos are at the in-laws to spend a day of fun. LOVE my in-laws! So Pretty Handsome Guy and I will have our own day of fun.

Did you see that cute bucket of bath and body love above? (Who am I kidding, how could you miss that gigantic picture.) Today I'll show you how to make the liner.

So, I started this post and wrote "How to Make a Pants Liner" in the title field until I realized that pants liner is only one letter away from panty liner. {snicker, giggle} Not good.

The liner started out in a previous life as a pair of pants:

Not my pants, I found them at Goodwill. I liked the print and had plans to use the fabric for a sweater embellishment, but then I saw how nicely the purple color looked next to my newly painted bucket and inspiration hit.

Start by turning the pants inside out.

Set the foot of the pants inside your bucket. And roll the waist outside the bucket. Move the pants up and down on the bucket until you have a snug fit.

  

Mark the outside edge of the pants with a disappearing fabric marker or an old sliver of soap. Make sure you allow an extra inch to roll under when you sew it.

Remove the pants from the pail, take a big breath and cut the pants. Yes, I cringe at cutting up pieces of clothing. One day I hope to overcome my phobia.

Fold over the cut edge twice and sew it.

Set the pant leg into the bucket again and roll the finished edge over the bucket until you are happy with how much cuff shows. Then use a pin to mark where the bottom of the bucket is.

Remove your pants liner {snicker, snicker, giggle. I almost said panty liner again.} And use some more pins to mark a straight line across the leg.

Take another breath and cut just below the pins on the leg. Remember to allow at least 1/2" seam allowance.

 

Turn the pants inside out (right sides together) and stitch the bottom closed.

Slip the liner back onto your bucket...

...and smooth out the bottom of the liner into your bucket.

That's it. You are done. Now fill up your bucket with a few of your favorite things.

The possibilities for this project are endless. How cute would a pair of old jeans look as a liner? Or some funky striped pants. So get thee to Goodwill ASAP and scour those pant racks. Size large or bigger works the best.

Oh and while you are there look for 100% wool sweaters to felt. I'll have a tutorial for making these cute roses coming soon.

Never Die Roses

Sweater Embellishments

Sharing this project at these FABULOUS link parties this week:

DIY Showoff  Project Parade

Skip to My Lou - Made by You Mondays

Between Naps on the Porch - Metamorphosis Mondays

Mad in Crafts - Mad Skills Party
Today's Creative Blog - Get Your Craft On 
Tip Junkie - Handmade Projects Tues.

Coastal Charm - Nifty Thrifty Tues.

All Thingz Related- anything related Tuesdays

Creating a House of Grace- Twice owned Tuesdays

I'm Topsy Turvy - Topsy Turvy Tues.
Savvy Southern Style - Boring to Better Tues.

Blue Cricket Design - Show and Tell Wednesday

Domestically Speaking - Power of Paint
The Tshirt Diaries - Upcycled Wednesday

Fine Craft Guild - Tutorial Link Party

Somewhat Simple.com - Strut Your Stuff

Shabby Chic Cottage - Transformation Thursdays

The Virginia House - We Can Do It Cheaper
Tools are for Women Too! - Modern Craftswoman

Fireflies and Jellybeans - Show Off Your Stuff

Decor Mamma - Frugalicious Friday

In the Fun Lane- Fresh Coat Fridays

Miss Mustard Seed - Furniture Feature Fridays

Tater Tots and Jello - Weekend Wrap Up Party

Funky Junk Interiors - Saturday Night Special 

A Little Knick Knack - Everything but the Kitchen Sink

  Shabby Nest - Frugal Friday
A Design Story - Sunday Blog Parade

December - Dejá Vu a Month in Review

Wham! This year has flown by so fast, it feels like I've been shot out of a cannon. December was a quick flash of light. As a courtesy to those of us that rarely have enough time to read all the fabulous blogs on a regular basis, I have for you a review of all the posts at Pretty Handy Girl in December.

1. Using Shutters for Displaying Christmas Cards

2. Painting Brick Fireplaces  - Reader's Spotlights

3. Presto Chango - Christmas Wreath Tutorial

4. Winter Wonderland Photo Gallery

5. Mini Gift Pouches from Napkins Tutorial

6. Glass Jar Votive Holder Tutorial

7. Installing Anti-Tip Bracket on Your Oven

8. Why I Love My Cordless Drill

9. El Cheapo Laundry Room Makeover

10. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #1

11. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #2

12. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #3

13. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #4

14. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #5

15. Creative Gift Wrapping Day #6 

16. Repairing a Pop Up Sink Drain

17. Fixing Common Gift Wrap Problems - Pretty Handsome Guy Guest Posting

18. Creating Magical Silhouette Gifts from Santa

19. The Best of Pretty Handy Girl 2010

And that finishes up December of 2010! I hope you all have a wonderfully Happy New Year.
I look forward to sharing some more DIY empowerment with you in 2011!