Off with their necks!

I finished off 2017 with a spree of removing the collars from things.

One was a cowl-neck sweater I got from a friend. I've never been a huge fan of cowl necks, and it turns out they're usually pretty easy to remove, since they're usually attached by a seam which makes a natural new neckline.

Sweater before

Sweater during

In the case of this sweater, I just cut the cowl off with about two inches to spare, and then turned what was left of it to the inside, notching it in a few places so it wouldn't bunch up.

Sweater after 

I was not very thorough in documenting the process of this project, but you can see a few photos of different neckline styles I tried and rejected, and how I styled the sweater for its debut appearance, over in my original blog post!

Around the same time as I did the sweater, I was also working on this blazer.

Blazer before

I accidentally ironed a permanent scar into the collar of this once-majestic blazer. 

After a couple years of sitting on it, I finally realized it might look all right if I just removed the collar and lapels. The collar came off easily with a seam ripper, and I cut the lapels into a V-shape I thought looked nice.


The trickiest part was taming the raw edges of the new neckline with bias tape. I am a bias-tape newbie; I'm almost certain I did it wrong; but I still ended up with something that works for me!

Blazer after

Although my craftsmanship might be a little iffy, I think the blazer overall has a much more flattering look with its new neckline! Visit my blog for a few close-up photos and a picture of my first outfit featuring the newly redesigned blazer!

Happy 2018!
--The Unfashionista