Horrible dress = cute skirt!

Horrible dress...



cute skirt...


~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

Ugly top + felted sweater = cute sundress!

I made this dres last summer. The above top doesn't look so bad just laying there, but when it was on, it was UGLY and most unflattering. I loved the fabric though, so I added a bodice of lightly felted wool.


It turned out really cute, and was my favorite dress all last summer (& will be this summer too!).


Full post here.


~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

Upcycled hoodie

I had bought this pullover hoodie, just because it was 50 cents at the thrift store, and I liked the colors/stripes. I am not a fan of pullovers (it's a sensory thing for me), and it was a bit snug, so I went to work on it. I simply cut straight down the center...



and looked through my stash for a zipper, but they were all too short. I finally found the button down part of a felted wool cardigan, I had in my scraps, and just sewed it on with a zig zag stitch to the hoodie edge. It took about 5 minutes, and I love how it turned out!



It needed a little something, so I appliqued a recycling symbol to the chest. Now I have something to wear to all those upcoming Earth Day celebrations!




~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
Blog ~ www.resweater.blogspot.com

backpack makeover

I needed the perfect backpack to hold all my stuff over the summer, and this one was the perfect size, shape, and had the pockets I needed in the places I needed them. The problem? Nobody in our family has the initials "DM" or plays soccer.



I almost went to a craft store to look for patches, but I made myself think of what I could reuse, and remembered my old Girl Scout sash, just sitting in a box in the basement. I seam ripped them off of the sash, and sewed them onto the backpack. I love the retro look of them, and it's nice to reuse something that was a part of my childhood.





Much better!

baggy to perfect sweatshirt

I always have a hard time finding shirts that fit me right. I am tall and broad shouldered, so if it fits in the body, the sleeves & hem are too short, if it's a good length, and the sleeves are right, then it's too big in the body. Now I just buy something at the thrift store that is the right length, and take it in. I just put it on inside out, pinned it how I wanted it to fit, sewed along the pins, then cut off the excess.

Much better!


To see what else i've been up to lately, like a quilt made from felted sweaters, and a dog bed from a thrift store crib bumper & throw pillow, check out my blog!

~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

Resized skirt!

I found this skirt at the thrift store, and fell in love with it, but it was a size 0. I frowned, and put it back on the rack, but then the lightbulb went off, and it went back in my cart. I resized it, by cutting off the waistband, and adding a soft, stretchy, lightly felted (washed in a hot wash, so it won't unravel when cut) merino wool waistband from sweater. Now it's a size *cough* ! It's very flattering on, but since I haven't shaved my legs since about October (sorry if that's tmi!), this is all I can show you right now ;).



~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

More recycled wool knee patches!

Yep, more wool knee patches! This is the first pair of jeans, that I bought new, that my son has put knee holes in. All the previous holey knees were from thrifted jeans, whose knees were already faded and on borrowed time. Hopefully this is not an indication of how things are going to be from now on... I can only patch them so fast ;) ! I asked my son what he wanted for this pair, and he said "stars... like on GI Joe stuff". Army green stars it is!

Here's the jeans, before and after....


and a close up of one of the knees, before and after...


It'll look cooler after they get washed a couple more times, and the stars get fringier.

Fyi, I have been asked a few times how the patches hold up in the wash, and if they will shrink further. The first one I made still looks great, and has not felted any further. I wash them on cold, and that first pair has been washed & worn at least 10 times!

ETA: Since a couple people asked on my blog how I got the jeans under my sewing machine, I thought I would answer here as well. I seam rip the easy seam (the outside seam) open about a foot, then sew it back up when i'm done. It only takes 2 minutes to seam rip it open, then closed when you are done, but makes it SO much easier to sew the patch on.
Also, it is easier to draw the design directly onto the jeans (I use my son's washable markers), sew on the marker lines (I go over it twice for extra strength), then do the cutting on the jeans & trim the excess patch off.


~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

Flannel pants to mouth wipes

I wanted a sanitary solution to wiping our mouths after brushing our teeth. Through an informal poll, I found out that most people wipe their mouths on the hand towel! I will be wiping my hands on my pants from now on when I go to other people's houses, lol. Anyway, we were using tissues (wasteful), and bath towels (probably not the most sanitary) in my house, so I decided to make some mini washcloths for the sole purpose of wiping our mouths after brushing. I found this pair of flannel pj bottoms at the thrift store, and made the wipes. There was enough material to make 46 4" wipes, enough to last over a week between washings.



~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

felted wool cardigan to warm & cute skirt!

I got this merino wool cardigan sweater from the thrift store already felted, and it was begging me to become a skirt! I love the rolled original hem, and little belts... it made for some great detail in the skirt. I originally had sewn the cardigan opening closed all the way, but since taking the pictures, I have seam ripped the bottom 4 inches back open. It lays, moves, and looks a lot better now!



For more recycled wool projects, and lots of tutorials, check out my blog!

~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

men's sweater to dog tennis dress

It gets very cold in our drafty old house, so me and my dog love to wear sweaters on a cold day! For the full post on how I made this doggie sweater dress, go here. For my original tutorial on how to make a dog sweater from wool sweaters, including how to make your pattern, you can go here.



To see all the other 100's of things that can be made from recycle wool & cashmere sweaters, check out my blog...


~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
Blog ~ www.resweater.blogspot.com

Short sleeves to long sleeves

This one is pretty self explanatory. We found this super cute shirt at a resale shop, and my son wanted to wear it right away! I don't blame him... who wouldn't want to wear a googly eyed mammoth right away? It was in the fall though, so I decided to make it into a long sleeved shirt. I had these sleeves left from a womans shirt from another project, and they went great together! I had him put on the shirt, and slid the sleeve on his arm, to see where I needed to cut, and marked it with a safety pin.



I cut them, and then just sewed them to the inside of the sleeve, stitching over the original sleeve hem stitching, so it wouldn't look any different, and I was done!



I purposely left the sleeves a little long (we roll them back right now), so we can get 2 years out of it. It is now one of my son's favorite shirts! :)



To see more of what i'm up to, especially when it comes to recycled wool, check out my blog!

~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
Blog ~ www.resweater.blogspot.com

infant romper to doll pajamas

Mostly I only work with recycled wool, but this was a side project. My son is 6, and past playing with dolls, but I bring them out when little ones come to visit. My son said they should have more clothes, so the little ones can have more fun playing with them, so I picked up this little infant romper at the thrift store yesterday. Why buy expensive fabric when you can reuse (especially when you can use the existing leg, neck, and arm seams!)?



I didn't write a full tutorial on this, but if you sew, I think you can figure it out. I first cut it in half, and sized up the pieces against the doll, so I could see about where I needed to take in the sides.





I added a little piece of elastic to the waist, after taking in the sides, and the pants were done.


I then took in the sides on the top, and hemmed the bottom, starting where the snaps ended, so it now opens completely in the front... easier for little hands, so they don't have to wrestle it over the doll's big head.



It was easy and fast, since most of the seams were already there!



~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

A cute fix for a hole in the knee of jeans

I wish this was my original idea, but I found it on Pinterest. I did however, do things a little differently than the original. The original poster sewed hers on by hand, but when I patch a knee, I like to sew by machine (because it's faster, and I am lazy, lol), so I seam ripped open the leg to sew mine on the machine, and I, of course, used felted recycled wool.

Here is the before (not a very big hole, but it would have been quickly!) ...


and after...


Much cuter, eh?

If your little guy is not so little, and this is a bit too cute for your little man, I wrote a tutorial here for repairing holes with the "destroyed" look.



~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
www.resweater.blogspot.com

Resweater - an introduction

Hi, i'm Kris, of Resweater, and new to the Refashion Co-op! I'll be posting tutorials and re-dos here, using recycled wool (aka wool sweaters). I discovered recycled wool when my son was in diapers, and everything with plastic was causing a heat rash on him, from the trapped moisture. I started using wool diaper covers, and he never had a heat rash again. My love of wool just snowballed from there, and now I make clothes, dryer balls, mittens, hats, pillows, and more! I love wool, and I love recycling!



I have a blog filled with free recycled wool tutorials (Tutorial Tuesday), crafty things i'm currently working on (What I've Been Working on Wednesday), great shops to visit (Feature Friday, and new sweaters that are coming up for sale (Sweater Monday). I also have an Artfire shop where I sell unloved wool & cashmere sweaters to those who make things from them as well.

Here are a couple of my latest projects:

Owl skirt tutorial:


Boot cuff leg warmers tutorial:


I hope you enjoy my future posts!

 ~ Reuse, Recycle, Resweater! ~
Blog ~ www.resweater.blogspot.com
Shop ~ www.resweater.artfire.com