Sweaters and Sequence

I took an old loved sweater and gave it new life by adding a sequence detail to the neck line.  It was a great way to fix a few problems and update a most beloved sweater.

I love this sweater.  It was my first cashmere sweater ever, but it has seen better days.  This poor sweater has been through the washer and dryer (Simon didn't realize you can't machine wash and dry cashmere) but although is was treated roughly it came out in pretty good shape.  It didn't felt and it still fit although the little bit of room in the sweater was gone.  I attribute the sweater making it through its traumatic washing and dying to the fact that we wash everything on cold and gentle and dry everything on low.  The sweater had also gotten snagged on something the last time I wore it and there is a small hole near the neckline on the right side.

This has been sitting in my pile of projects to do.  I had some down time this week and figured that I should get going and finish this before the weather got too warm for a cashmere sweater.  

Here's the hole I was talking about.  My idea for this sweater came about as a way to fix and hide the hole.  My favorite fabric store was having a sale on sequence back in the fall and I bought some metallic and teal sequence with this project in mind. 

Teal and bronze are the colors I picked and as you can tell from the top photo I used mostly teal sequence.  I like the look of the teal sequence glinting on the teal sweater.  

First things first.  I decided to go ahead and mend the hole before I started to attach the sequence.  I figured it was best to hide the weird blip the mending left in the sweater with a sequence than to just cover the hole with one.  

The mending isn't anything fancy.  Just a few quick stitches to pull the hole closed.  I did weave the thread through a few stitches like you would if you were grafting in knitting or weaving your ends in at the end of a project.  

I started by covering the blip and then continued up the side of the neckline to the shoulder seam.  I attached my sequence closer and closer to each other as I got to the top of the shoulder to make it look as though the sequence were trickling down the sweater.  It took two passes of attaching sequence to get the desired affect.  

A quick note.  Attaching individual sequence is time consuming, but there is something meditative about it and the end result is worth the time.  

A Little Bit of Procrastination

I know I'm suppose to be working on my Janina Trousers, but I saw this post on Merrick's Art, and having gone thrifting and found a men's polo in teal for $1, I felt I just had to make this first. 

The shirt fit me really well so I didn't need to take it in.  All I really did was cut the arm band of the sleeve and then hem the sleeve.

And then I cut the collar off and changed the neckline into a scoop neck.  I used some pretty teal bias tape from my notions stash to finish the neckline.  

I also made the back the front and the front the back, and left the buttons from the original collar.  I think it gives the top a little interest. 

The buttons are all for show as I sewed the top closed when I attached the bias tape.