Wednesday 24 February 2016

Sweater Remake and Seamwork Astoria






I got this sweater at the euro rail - its one of the few things I bought in a charity shop this year.  I am trying to get through what I have here - but I seem to make an exception for the euro rail - I often think these are the 'no hope-ers' and bound for landfill.  I love this colour, the fabric is cotton knit/ jersey.  The sweater colour is uneven due to wear and laundry, but to me this was part of the appeal as the colour now looked slightly textured,   












For the remake, I used the Astoria pattern.  It was all straight forward.  I added 5 inches to the length, and made the sleeves as long as I could.  I sewed it using the overcast stitch on the 'new' machine.  (so handy)




Cut out






Cutting Sleeve - I use bulldog clips to keep the two layers together, and it stops the fabric rolling back in.
















































I was unsure about the neck finish, and luckily I had some of the same shade in yarn, left 
over from a previous project!  (its a colour I like).  I turned the edges and machine basted them, and blanket stitched them.  The trim is a mix of double and treble (uk) stitches.



Inside....


Outside.....


Love how it turned out -I cannot believe how quick and easy these types of sweater remakes are, (and the corresponding amount of sweaters on the men's rail in charity shops).  I have a few more sweaters to remake soon, but I am hoping to try a few different finishes, like embroidered hems and embroidered embellishments....   




7 comments:

  1. I just love this beautiful green. Well done on the refashion, the trim is awesome. Cheers, Michele

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  2. Beautiful job! Remaking men's sweaters is so rewarding, and what lovely trim.

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  3. Love it. And the overcast stitch I must check that out. What type of machine needle did you use?

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    1. Thank you Karen - I did the overcast, and then trimmed it with a small scissors, it looks a lot neater than the zig zag, even though ultimately both do the same thing. I would love to tell you that I changed needles to a stretch one, but I used a light woven I think (I will confess, unless I am working on a specific project I will not change needles as I am normally dabbling with a few and I will leave the same one in - Silk and heavy fabric I will definitely check the needle!)

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    2. Same as that, but have not held onto the blunt ones. I have gotten better about changing when I am sewing more, and tend to buy machine needles in advance so I dont feel I am down to the last one. universal ones are handy indeed,

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  4. Green is my hands down favourite colour and you've definitely done it justice with this fantastic re-make. What I would give for your skills - to transform an old men's v-neck into a eminently wearable jumper. Why don't you live in Sheffield!? What skills - and the trim attached with blanket stitch is just dreamy.

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    1. Thanks so much Aimee - the blanket stitch is the best way to finish the ends, and then the crochet is crocheted onto that as a foundation. I did a tidy stitch and it worked well - although I tried to do a concealed on the hem, but I think the blanket stitch showing is much more effective. these make good sweaters, and an interesting cowl could be made by just continuing the stitch..... so many options!

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