Karen's nearly finished jacket using sections from a pre-printed panel. Note the snowman heads that will peak out from the sleeve binding when the cuff is completed. Fall is the time to think gifts, and simple sweatshirt can easily become a beautiful jacket in a weekend. First be sure to wash the sweatshirt and tumble dry to shrink it to the final size. An old sweatshirt works just great too! By removing the ribbing at the cuffs and bottom, the now flattened shape can be slit up the front. The ribbing at the neck is cut away only to the stitching, but not completely removed, to stabilize the neckline. The top front can now be cut into a slight curve to create a cardigan jacket shape. After the center front is stay-stitched, the fun begins! Your stash is your “paintbrush”, and the flat shape is your “canvas”.
One option is to slit open both underarm seams completely and then cover the entire sweatshirt with randomly placed fabrics scraps. These are machine appliquéd (zig-zag stitched) over the raw edges. The underarm seams are then re-sewn and all edges are finished with binding, just as you would bind a quilt.
A second option is the cover only part of the sweatshirt with your own design of fabric strips, or parts of blocks, or fabric appliqués or even pockets made from “cheater” panels. Creatively bound edges can incorporate lined prairie points, lace, ribbons or buttons—whatever you can imagine!
These one-of-a-kind jackets are easy, and warm, cozy, and fun to wear! Let me help you recycle an old friend into a new treasure!
Monica plans out her overall design to cover the sweatshirt with coordinated fabrics, and then zig zag the raw edges.
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Balancing lights and darks and random sizes, shapes, and textures makes for a pleasing design
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Karen plays with ideas for the back. She will incorporate embroidery floss and small sleigh bells on the back panels.
|  Almost done! Karen stitches the final parts of the binding along the edges. |
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