Vintage Inspired Convertible Capelet from a Sweater

Give an old sweater a new life!  

I got the sweater as present but never wore it because unless I wore a long sleeve shirt  underneath it was itchy, so I decided to turn it into something more useful with versatility.  

It is convertible in that it can be worn three different ways depending on your mood, but my favorite is the Vintage Inspired Capelet that has sort of a 1930's vibe to it.   Also, the "flower" is put on a pin back and can be used on its own.

Items used:

-  Sweater

-  Sewing machine and thread

-  Scissors

-  Straight Pins

-  Pin back

-  Velcro

-  Cylindrical object (I used a margarine tub lid)

- Seam gauge or ruler

- Paper

- Pen or Pencil

- Hot glue gun or needle and thread.

First flip the sweater upside down and cut straight across off underneath the arms from side to side.

The bottom part is what you will use to make the shrug.

Save the top part can be used to make the band and the flower and the sleeves can be saved for another future project (leg or armwarmers).

For the cut edge, use a zigzag or serger stitch to prevent unraveling all the way around and stitch 5/8 inch away from the edge as another preventative measure.

Turn under on the wrong side and stitch down all the way around and stitch 1/2 inch from the turned under edge

You now have the basic capelet completed (the first smaller picture above).




Now for the flower.  Place the cylindrical object on the paper, draw around it and cut out on  paper cut it out.

Next fold the paper into a quarter then measure in 1/2 inch or so in and cut away.  Repeat.

Pin the outside and middle layers along with the center onto the top portion of the sweater.and cut out each.  You will have 3 descending sizes of circles when you are done.

The large ring is for the bottom of the flower, the medium in the middle and the smallest center is for the top of the flower.

Zigzag or serge around the raw edges on all three circles.

Next, on the top side, using a basting stitch on the machine (or you could also do this by hand) sew a small quarter or other large coin size circle in the middle of each circle and leave  the tails on each end long as you will be gathering them up.

On the bottom side of each circle, gather up the threads and tie in a a knot on each and it will create at "bump" for the center of the flower.   Stack them on top of each other starting with the largest at the bottom, the medium one in the center and the small on on the top and push the "bump" in the center up into the next one.   Stitch around the center "bump" to secure all layers together.

Clip any lose threads and either use a hot glue gun or stitch the flower the pin back.  The pin can be used on this project or to pretty up anything else you would like.


To make the band cut a strip from the top of the sweater that is 8 inches long and 4-5 inches wide.   Zigzag or serger around the edges to keep it from unraveling.

Fold in half, right sides together and stitch one end and the long side together.  Turn inside out and zigzag the open end together (it doesn't look pretty but it isn't going to show as it will be on the inside of the shrug when it is used.    Stitch one side of the velcro to one side, flip over and flip another piece of velcro to the other side.

To use with the shrug, gather up the fabric on the shrug and wrap so the center of the band is on the outside and the two pieces of velcro hook together on the inside (third small picture above).  You can also move the band around to create a different look

For the look in the large picture above, the band was moved off center and the flower pinned to the band through the band the the shrug to secure it in place.)

Although I didn't take a picture of it, you could also use the shrug loose and pin the flower on it somewhere.  It could also be pulled up over the back of the head to create a mobius or scrunched and twisted for a cowl/infinity scarf look.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day:)

Linking up go:

Bows 'N Tulle 20 Minute T-Shirt Refashion

 

I wanted to fancy up a t-shirt with a somewhat vintage feel and created this for $2 using only a pair of scissors - no sewing required!  (1st picture is bow tied onel second picture is bow tied twice).

Items used:

• T-shirt
• Roll of 6 inch wide tulle (Purchased at Dollar Tree $1 - found in the bridal section)
• Scissors
• Seam gauge or ruler
• 1 piece scrap paper
• Pencil or marking chalk
• Safety pin

At the neckline, measure and mark 1/2 inch below the binding and cut.








Using a piece of paper I folded a long triangle with the base being and inch and 1/2 wide and cut it out.  Place up against the bound end of the sleeve with the narrowest part at the top and the widest at the bottom and mark.






At the neckline, measure 3/4 of an inch down and mark all the way around.  Mark the center front and back on the shirt.  One inch from each mark will be where you want to start your 2 inch markings.

 From the 3/4 inch mark, measure two inches down and mark all the way around at two inch intervals.

On the sleeves, starting at the top of the sleeve, also measure 3/4 inch from the edge and mark, then measure two below that mark and mark on the sleeve at two inch intervals.

Make cuts where marked.  I found it easiest to fold the fabric in half on the line marked and begin the cut.  Repeats all the way around the neckline and on the sleeves.

For the neckline, I cut a piece approximately 2 1/2 yards of tulle and folded the bottom up 2 inches and the top down two inches and folded the end over and secured with a safety pin to make it easier to thread through the neckline.

Start threading two cuts below the right hand side on the t-shirt weaving in and out all the way around then tie into a bow.   Trim bow to the length you want.

On the sleeve,  start one cut down from the top and thread all the way around, tie a bow and cut ends to the length you want, repeat on the other sleeve.






This is for Day 22 for 30 Days of Creativity

Bicycle Dress from T-Shirt

 This size 3-4 girls dress was made using a free pattern and instructions by Dana from "Made" using a large t-shirt.  The only variations that I made is instead of freezer paper stenciling a banana for the "Warhol" dress, I used free clip art from The Graphics Fairy of a Vintage Bicycle and added a ruffle at the bottom using a decorative stitch.

Items used:

• Free pattern and instructions from Dana from "Made"
• The Graphics Fairy of a Vintage Bicycle
• T-Shirt (I used a women's large)
• 2 pieces of fabric 2 1/2 inches by 26 inch fabric for bow
• 1 piece of fabric 2 inches by 36 inches for ruffle
• Printer and paper
• Black fabric paint
• Scissors
• Iron
• Sewing machine and matching thread 
• Straight pins 

I followed the instructions up to cutting out and stitching armholes and gather stitching, but before stitching together I printed off a half-page image of the bike then played around with where I wanted to position it on the dress.

 Using the black fabric paint I went over all of the black lines with black paint the positioned it on the t-shirt with the paint side down and lightly patted it down to transfer the image (Note:  it will be a mirror image to whatever image you are transferring, so it won't work with lettering).




For the remainder of the dress, I followed the instructions.

I also added a two inch ruffle (approximately 1 yd wide) at the bottom, using an iron to press up a 1/2 inch hem then stitching down and using a gather stitch at the top.  I then sewed the ends together, pinned underneath the shirt at the hem then applied the decorative stitch to finish.

Linking up to:

Vintage 50's Cat Inspired Panties

I am participating in 30 Days of Creativity and  just learned of it today and had to go with what I have on hand.  Today's theme is "Cat Meme", so I had a "make it work" moment and I decided for my inspiration to use a 50's cat decoration that my Mom used to have as an inspiration to decorate a pair of panties that I have (originally was going to do a notebook but could not find any scrapbook paper on hand that would work.)

Items used:

• Full Panty (a/k/a "Granny Panties")
• Scissors
• Paper
• Marker
• Scrap of black fabric
• Heat 'N Bond
• Iron
• Scissors
• Fabric paints

I drew the cat - it is about 6 1/4 inches tall and about 4 inches wide at the ears.

Iron a piece of Heat 'N Bond to a piece of 7x5 inch piece of black fabric on the wrong side of the fabric, then use the picture to make template and draw in marker on the Heat 'N Bond.  You end up with a negative of the picture.


Iron image on to object (in this case, panties).


Then use fabric paints to finish off the outside edges and draw eyes and ears (I used silver) and then fill the pupils (I used metallic green), the nose and mouth (I used metallic red) and then let dry then fill in whites of the eyes (I used a few layers of metallic "Glittering Crystal").  It seemed a little plain so I wrote "Cat's Meow" in silver.