What to Do With a Sweater with Frayed Sleeves
I would like to say that I thought of this brilliant idea all by myself so you could all think how clever and smart I am (it's an insecure day), but the truth is, I bought this really cute shirt at a thrift shop and then, when I got it home, realized that somebody else had come up with an adorable and cute idea to give new life to this sweater.
Whoever my unknown benefactress and mentor was, she took a sweater that was in great condition except for some fraying around the sleeve ends and collar, and slightly folded under those frayed edges and ironed them into place. Then she took the bottom four inches off the sleeves of a white dress shirt (probably a man's), and the collar and sewed them in place- giving my sweater a nice layered look without the bulk of an extra shirt, and thereby extending the life of a very pretty sweater. This would also work GREAT for sweaters for those children who keep growing UP without getting any thicker. You could extend the lengths of their sleeves, and even, in this day when the under layer is supposed to hang out below the bottom of the sweater, sew on another layer to the bottom of the sweater to extend the length.
Now, when I go to thrift shops and yard sales, I always look through the really hideous clothes that have been marked down to ridiculous prices- a quarter an item or something. I am looking for cool buttons and reusable zippers. I don't sew, but my fourth daughter does. We take home these ugly, but cheap garments, and cut off the buttons and zippers ( we also do this with clothes that we have worn out) to reuse later. Some of the ugliest clothes have some of the cutest buttons, and usually plenty of them. We also snip off any trimming that we might be able to reuse- lace or ribbons. We use the rest of the garment for cleaning rags or we just throw it out (I have also used them for padding when packing, but I don't intend to move ever again).
Now I will be rummaging through those clothes looking for collars and sleeves that can be used again. Did you know there are Goodwills that sell this kind of clothing by the pound?
You don't have to buy 'new' used sweaters and shirts to do this, of course. Just look around at 'what's in your hand.' You can extend the life of your son's sweater with cuffs from his sister's old shirt with the paint stains on the front.
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5 Responses to “What to Do With a Sweater with Frayed Sleeves”
October 31st, 2008 at 12:24 pm
good idea!
I saw where you can take a adult small sweat shirt and make it into a vest, skirt and hat for a younger child. Yeah! Take one arm to make hat (with pom pom fringe from it), top half to make vest and bottom half to make skirt (turned upside down). Wish I could find pattern but your 4th daughter could figure it out.
October 31st, 2008 at 4:33 pm
ok, here is a video to show how to do some of it.
http://www.threadbanger.com/post/7973/how-to-make-a-shrug-and-skirt-set-out-of-an-old-sweater
October 31st, 2008 at 10:30 pm
That’s neat. I never thought about all the possibilities. LOL!
Come check out my giveaway:
http://thewholefamily1.blogspot.com/2008/10/water-but-waaay-cuter.html
Gooc Luck!
November 4th, 2008 at 7:47 am
This is such a great idea. I remember paying a fortune for a new zipper once! I will definitely dig through my favorite thrift stores in the future!
You can make mittens and scarves out of old sweaters too. A simple search online will give you the directions.
November 27th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
If it’s 60% or more wool, it can be recycled into pants to cover cloth diapers — works better than plastic pants, and breathes!
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