Fall Wardrobe Revamp: Too Big Sweater to Pretty Top

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We are kicking off Fall Wardrobe Revamp 2012 with this first refashion. Here are the other bloggers who will be joining in the fun:

Palak from Make It Handmade
Rikka from Ricochet and Away
Kassi and Kaylie from Truly Lovely

Every thursday in Novemeber, I'm going to post a refashion or accessory tutorial that will help you revamp your wardrobe for the fall. In addition, I'll also be doing roundups of refashions and accessories that are just perfect for the fall. This month's Friday Features will also feature winter accessories and clever refashions for fall and winter. Palak and Rikka will also post Wardrobe revamp tutorials on their respective blogs. So are you ready to add some fall magic to your wardrobe? Grab our button and rev up that sewing machine.

In all honesty, I never cared too much for orange growing up. It was just too flashy, too 'out there' for my taste. Then something changed last year and I started loving this particular shade of orange, the one that is between red and orange. I don't know if it was the leaves turning colors or the bloggers falling head over heels for orange. Whatever it was I just started loving orange and hoarding orange-y things like crazy. I bought this sweater during a sale at Old Navy. Even in clearance it was priced a bit higher for my liking, I almost put it back, but then the texture and the color called my name and it came home with me.

Now finally I made something out of it that I would like to share with you all. It is very similar to the Kaftan Top I made earlier but much simpler.

Supplies: 

A too big sweater. It has to be really big. If you wear a size M, buy an XL for this refashion.

Ruffled lace or any other pretty trims ( pom-poms would also look good with this style)

Estimated time:

1 hour

Construction: 

Cut out both the layers of the sweater.

Sew  about an inch below the shoulders. This would fix the too low neckline and also remove an inch from the length.

Try the sweater on and mark how much you would like to take in. In this refashion, we are not taking in the sweater, instead we are keeping the excess out, hanging off the body of the sweater. So mark the silhouette you want with safety pins on both sides. Take out the sweater and sew a seam along the pins.

Now hack off the sides starting at the shoulders to give it a nice bat sleeve like silhouette. Basically you draw a slanted line starting just before the sleeve edge and ending at the hem of the sweater. I also made it a little curvy.

Now take a pretty trim, I used this pre-ruffled lace to finish the edges. Sew it such that it is sitting on the inside edge of the sweater, right sides together. Start at the bottom of the bat sleeves and go all the way to the other side.

Now fold the lace outwards and top-stitch. Repeat on the other side.

I realized that the center of the sweater was looking too plain and needed some pep, so I hand basted the lace in a U shape at the center and finished it by machine sewing. fold the end s of the lace on the inside.

Now find a pretty model, a beautiful location and click away...Ok that was me. You find some pretty jewelry, cute shoes and have fun :)