Fashion Forward February: Salvaging Sweaters
by Amy Brayfield
All this month, we’re looking at ways to make your child’s clothes’ lifespan stretch a little longer.
Unlike a lot of other children’s clothes, sweaters tend to cost a pretty penny — which is probably why I am so loath to let them go into the great freecycle bin in the sky without a fight. I almost always buy them a size bigger than we need so that they don’t get outgrown too quickly, but even then, by the time they fit too snugly, they usually look like they’ve hardly been worn. So I’ve spent a lot of energy looking for ways to make sweaters last a little longer. Here are a couple of my favorites.
#1: Sleeve savior
When a sweater really doesn’t fit, that doesn’t mean it’s past its usefulness completely. My daughter loves wearing old sweater sleeves as “arm warmers” with T-shirts on chilly days. And making them is totally easy. (If you have a baby, discarded sweater sleeves also make great leg warmers for little ones.)
What you need:
- Old sweater
- Scissors
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
What to do:
It’s pretty simple: Start by slicing the sleeves off your sweater, right beneath the shoulder seam.
Next, using your sewing machine or needle and thread, hem the cut arm of the sweater to keep it from unraveling.
And that’s it. If you’re worried about the sleeve being too loose to fit comfortably on your child’s arms, hem the sleeve with foldover elastic (available at stores like JoAnn’s), but the sleeves usually seem to work just fine without it.
#2: Cardigan rule
An ill-fitting pullover can become an absolutely adorable cardigan with a little slicing and stitching.
What you need:
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1
- 2
