Yet Another Sweater Re-con

There isn’t too much that feels better than cashmere on the skin. I am always on the look out for cashmere sweaters in the thrift stores. A bad shape or an unfortunate color don’t detract a whole lot from a well priced sweater.  Any sweater can be re shaped or dyed, to suit my taste.

 

It’s generally warm in New York City apartments. I nearly always have a few windows open in my apartment, even on the coldest days. I usually wear a sleeveless dress topped by a cotton sweater while at home. When I go out I switch to a warmer wool, often cashmere cardigan.

 

 

I found this very pink cashmere v-neck at the Salvation Army this summer. It was half price.  I put it on yesterday for the first time over an orange paisley dress. I realized that I just wasn’t going to wear it  very often unless it was turned into a cardigan.

 

I folded the sweater in half and lined up the side seams to be sure that I would actually cut along the center front properly.

The I  cut from hem to neckline.

No, the cashmere does not unravel. You have not wrecked the sweater by cutting it.

 

Here is the sweater, cut. I’m not quite sure why the camera could quite manage to stay consistent color –wise…but the top picture is just about the right shade. I know, the color has  very little to do with the success of this operation.

 

I then serged the cut seam.  this serves two purposes, it seals that raw edge. it also serves to provide a stable base for whatever embellishments you plan to add to the cut edge.

My daughter had found me the geranium pink lace trim a few years ago.  Many years ago I bought the spool of maroon velvet.  ribbon in a trimming place about to go out of business. I really am not a pink and lace sort of a girl.  But I now own enough cashmere sweaters to allow myself a silly one.  First I zig zagged the lace to the sweater, then I topped the lace with the maroon ribbon.

 

To me, this sweater looks like the inside of a Valentine’s candy box.

 

It is a little silly. The front edge of the sweater got a bit stretched out.  I ironed the sweater with lots of steam to take away the ripple that had formed along the front edge.  In knitting or crochet books they call this blocking and make it seem like something so difficult to do that it is best left to the professionals.  It’s just easier to do if you think of it as pressing the garment into shape.

 

I had  a batch of sweaters that I had just laundered. I pressed them all.