Drab to Fab Cardigan

Posted by Jackie on May 8, 2009 in Clothing |

After a no-craft delay of a few weeks - SORRY - I am anxiously returning with a fresh craft. We’re going to spruce up a BORING old cardigan and turn it into something SUPER CUTE.

Because I’m heavily inspired by pop culture and its fashion, it should come as NO surprise that this craft is in honor of an avant-garde fashionista from the TV: Penny Marshall as Laverne De Fazio from Laverne & Shirley. Yes, I know this show is from before my time and technically I should be basing crafts on Donna Martin & Kelly Taylor, but give me a break. Did Kelly or Donna look like this? What about this? Catch my drift? See where we’re going here? INITIAL CARDIGANS (with a twist)!

Truthfully, I’ve been trying to put the cardigan I used in my pile of “give-away” clothes for years. Likely since the week after I bought it. No matter how many times I tried to get rid of it, it always managed to creep back into my closet (on the floor, obviously). It was always too plain and usual (and itchy) for my regular rotation. When I was brainstorming on crafts for here, I knew that fixing up this cardigan would be an obvious choice post. And it actually worked - since I did this, I’ve actually worn the cardigan out AND it’s given me inspiration to hang onto old clothes and fix them up!

So, without further ado, let’s talk CARDIGANS!

Things You Need:

1 old boring cardigan THAT FITS YOU (we’re not changing its size, we’re just making it FANCY)
Fabric scraps (I used velour, but that’s because we had it hanging around)
1 skein of embroidery floss - in a bright cheery color, why not!
1 embroidery needle (or any sewing needle with a big enough eye to push floss through)
Scissors - obviously
Cardboard (to make shape templates)
Iron-on/stick-on initial applique
Patience & imagination

Things You DON’T Need But Can Use Too:

Glue gun
Fake jewels
Extra buttons

Note: while this IS a sewing craft, you don’t need to be a wizard seamstress to do this - a simple fell stitch does the trick and is as basic as stitching comes.

How To:

Lay your cardigan out flat and decide what sort of embellishment you’d like to do. I chose to put heart-shaped patches on the lower back, front and elbow, along with my initial on the front and jewel-covered buttons.
Using a cardboard cut-out (I actually used a heart-shaped box), trace your shape onto the wrong side of the fabric - as in the side you don’t want to be seen.
Cut out your shapes.
Decide where you want to put your shapes on your cardigan.
Here’s the tricky part: thread your needle. I suggest being really generous with your floss and use as much as you can handle working with. It’s not a big deal if you have to rethread partway through. I did!
Lay your cardigan out and using our friend, the fell stitch, sew your patches to your cardigan. Hint: if you’re sewing your patch to the back or front, it’s easy-breezy. If you decide to do an arm patch, make sure you don’t sew the sleeves together. It can get very complicated very quickly! If you must, roll up the sleeve as much as you can for sewing ease. You’ll notice my stitches are anything BUT perfect. That’s not entirely because I’m not a great seamstress. Uneven stitches on these patches gives a more kitschy vibe to your cardigan AND you’re then not stressed for perfect stitches.
Read the instructions on your applique initial patch. Mine is a Wal-Mart purchase ($3.99 CAD) and is a stick-on with the option of ironing. In my case, I simply peeled it off the package and stuck it on. Easy! No iron needed! No burnt fingers today!
To add a little bit of sparkle, use a glue gun to stick jewels on top of your existing buttons. This has a double-duty feature: not only are you adding SPARKLE to your cardigan, but by hot-glueing on top of the buttons, you’re securing the usually-weak button stitches. No more lost buttons! If you have patience and a knack for sewing, instead of this, you can replace the existing buttons with different buttons - just make sure they’ll fit through the button loops!
Wear your cardigan and be the cutest girl in town!

Original Cardigan - SNORE

Supply Pile

Tracing Your Shape

Cutting - Nice Nails are a MUST!

Looking Good!

Threaded & Ready!

Beginning Stitches

Sewing up a STORM

Jeweled Buttons

Pressing on the Initial

Final Cardigan - Front

Final Cardigan - Back