Sweater Refashion

Its well known around here that I am starting to love hand-me-downs. My aunt is always sending me clothes that she doesn't need anymore. Growing up I was always given clothes that I hated. Just remember the 90's. It was that bad. Of course, I didn't feel comfortable with my own sense of style to really embrace what I was wearing, who does at 10? Now that I'm older, I have a different view point. I'm embracing hand-me-downs like a greedy child at Christmas. 

In the pile of things my aunt sent me sat a large white sweater. I shun white. I can never keep it white for very long, so I just sneak away from it. Guys, I didn't even have a white wedding dress. We just don't get along. However, one look at this sweater and I didn't really care if it was white. I saw potential. 

I flipped the sweater inside out, unpicked the tag on the back, and then cut off the collar. 

Roll the edge over twice, pin in place, and sew a straight stitch along the inner edge. 

It now looks like this. 

 Try on your sweater inside out, and pin it where you desire, forming to your shape. I didn't completely make it snug to my figure. Closer to the arms I did, but I wanted the torso of the sweater to still have that baggy look. You can go ahead and mark it with chalk before you sew, or you can use the pins as a guide. Stitch the sides and arms following your pins, or chalk line, with a straight stitch. Then zig-zag or serge your loose ends. 

This is what my sweater looked like flipped right side out. I ended up taking in roughly 4 inches on my widest point, and about 2 on my thinnest point. 

You can't have an open canvas like this and not put something totally awesome on it. For me, it was this lion silhouette. I looked all over Google and Pinterest until I found one that caught my attention. Who doesn't want a majestic lion on their chest? 

Cut out the black part of the shape you choose, then figure out where you would like your image. 

Majestic Leo the Lion (I know, it's overkill, that won't stop me) was pinned to my top. I chose to mix black and a dark metallic silver fabric paint. In the pictures Leo looks black. He actually kinda shimmers. What a diva, eh? 

He is SO awesome! Notice I didn't fill him in completely. I actually like the vintage look it gives. 

Side note: those houses they are building behind me had a bunch of big burly men walking around. Some stopped to observe while my husband snapped a few photos of me. It was awkward to say the least. How do models do this?