Quick & Easy Pullover to Cardigan Makeover for Christmas

Due to a crazy fall – deadlines, house renovation and moving, and a family loss – I have not sewn anything since the first week of October. This means I haven't even started on my Fall/Winter sewing list, and the winter is half over. But on the other hand, it also means I have enjoyed getting more wear out of previous makes. And also did more small projects, like turning this pullover into a cardigan.

 

This sweater is a duplicate in ladies' size of one my brother got last Christmas. I liked it so much I tracked down one for me, but when it arrived I wasn't sure if I wanted to try to shorten it to a more flattering length, or turn it into a cardigan.

 

It stayed on my mending/alteration rack for a whole year.

Just before Christmas when I was thinking about what to wear Christmas Day, I remembered this sweater. After some debate, I decided that I would get a lot more wear out of it as a cardigan, so here's how I altered it.

1. I matched the side seams (you can also measure & mark the center) and cut it down the center.

Next, I fused a 1” strip of fusible interfacing to the underside of each cut. I've tried making pullovers into cardigans before, but this is the first time I used fusible interfacing – and it makes a huge difference! It keeps the edges from fraying while you work, and keeps them from stretching out of shape.

 

At this point you could just fold over the front edge and hem it, but this sweater was already a bit small for me and I didn't want to take any extra fabric. So I sewed single fold bias tape to each raw edge, unfolding it all the way out and stitching along the fold line.

 

Next all I had to do was fold it in, tuck down the top and bottom edges, and hand stitch it. Catching just the underside of the knit makes an invisible seam.

 

All done! I could have added buttons and buttonholes at this point, but as I said the sweater was already tight for me, so an open front cardigan was best. I definitely would try the buttonholes for another project though to make it a true button-down cardigan.

 

There are lots of other ways to make pullovers into cardigans, including totally unpicking the seams and cutting it down if it's too large, or adding decorative stitches or trims to the front to hide your seams. This is just the way I did it for this one.

 

And as I anticipated, it gets a lot more wear as a cardigan. Already it's my go-to winter sweater.

 

I just love the vintage styling of the decorative yoke, while at the same time it looks festive for Christmas but not so Christmassy that I can't wear it for the rest of the winter.

 

So there's a quick and easy sweater refashion for the colder months! Next time when thrifting if you see a pretty pullover but you're a cardigan girl, you can go ahead and get it, having the confidence that you can turn it into a winter closet staple.

 

I may have a few other sweaters that need this treatment now that I know how fast and effective it is!

 

Comments

[Emma H.]

That's such a beautiful sweater and you did a wonderful job of converting it to a cardigan!!