Tuesday, March 29, 2011

diy: crepe ruffle sweater


This sweater was sitting in my closet lonely and bored. I thought I should lift its spirits with a crepe-ruffle edge to give it new life & ready for Spring. It was surprisingly quick to do and easier than I expected.
1 Choose a fabric that has some texture and is pretty thin
2 Cut two strips of fabric at 4"x 40" or longer depending on length of sweater
3 Iron fabric strips in half so it is about 2" wide
4 Run a wide-stitch... on my machine the stitch was set to 4 and then tension 4
5 Hold the top thread while gathering the fabric so it is evenly ruffled
6 Pin the ruffled fabric to the sweater so that there's 1/4" of the fabric layering overlapping a seam to the left of the buttons on your sweater. That seam is where you will sew so you're stitching isn't seen.
Repeat for the other side of the sweater.
Tip: I ironed the fabric so that one of the layers is shorter than the other so it looks like two layers of ruffles.
I am not a seamstress at all so if I can do it you definitely should give it a try. Plus, your sweater will greatly appreciate it.



58 comments:

waleska said...

you are so talented, lizzy! i LOVE this :)

Lori said...

how lovely! thanks for sharing!

Melissa said...

I LOVE this! I have some fabric that is just like this, actually, that I was supposed to make into a dress. :) Thanks so much for the idea!

Carol W. said...

super cute update to the sweater. TFS

Stephanie said...

very pretty! I recently learned how to use my sewing machine, I can't wait to try this :)

Tabitha@InspiredByGiving said...

Great idea!! Did you use fabric from another shirt or just fabric on hand? I have a few shirts like that fabric that are too big and they just sit in my closet, but I love their color!!
You are truley a creative genius!
Rock it girl!

Tori said...

Totally reminds me of something I saw at downeast but two tone and super cute! You are one talented gal! :)

Angie Blom said...

Oh I just love it.. and the hit of pink is wonderful.

sophie said...

this is so springy!! love the idea! you make everything look so simple!! I love how humble you are!

Anonymous said...

(sigh) This is darling... and you should open an Etsy shop with things like this for people like me with no time to do this ourselves!

Ann Marie said...

Oh come on! How stinkin cute is that little sweater????!!! Love it!!!!!

Unknown said...

SO SO SO Creative!!! Your sweater is adorable... thanks for the tutorial... now I just need a sewing machine... DI here I come...

amytangerine said...

adorable!

Renee Zwirek said...

so pretty!

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness I am in love!! So beautiful!! This is also my kind of stuff... easy peazzy!!

Unused Account said...

THAT is seriously cute.
And so are YOU.

kristina said...

i'm in love! definitely making this!! thanks!

nicole said...

oooo i love this! sooo cute!

Meg said...

oh my i love this! i tried this same thing not so long ago but it did not turn out nearly as cute.... i think i am going to try again!

hugs

angie worthington said...

So CUTE!!!
Question: Does the ruffle go all the way to the bottom of the sweater?

Stephanie said...

What a lovely addition! So cute!

Ana said...

Loved it. Thanks for sharing.

Valerie said...

Super cute! I might have to give a few of my blah cardis a make-over.

Mary said...

Such a great way to make sweaters more fun! Thank you for sharing the how-to :)

Kim Woods said...

About 8 years ago I worked in a corporate office that was always hot or cold so I had literally 40 twin sets! That is all I wore! In the time in between I got rid of most of them because I was horrified by the number and for a bit wore more jackets than sweaters. I do still have some lovely, lonely sweaters I might be able to jazz up with this idea but if I had this idea just a wee bit earlier...watch out! Ruffles galore!

liza said...

very pretty... i love your idea of giving an 'edge' to your sweater =)
thanks for sharing... c",)

Pearl said...

Thats really adorable Liz!
I love that coral pink color too!


Pearl

dmoraima said...

I like that, so cute...

Libby said...

Great idea! Beautifully executed and modeled.

krystel/bob376 said...

wouahhh c'est juste trop trop beau !!

Tamdsgns said...

I love this! I have a few sweaters I wanted to upcycle and just couldn't decide how. I love this and I am surely going to try this!!!! Such a great idea, I love the way the fabric is inset so I don't have to button sweater(still working on losing my weight).

sharon g said...

How do you keep the edges from unraveling since you didn't stitch them or anything? I'd love to transform a sweater, but wouldn't want it to unravel....

Sheila said...

So Lizzy! Spring is in your heart.
Sweater is happy, light and ruffly just like you. I bet the girls want a mini version too.
Keep em coming, love the idea!

Nicole Underwood Gonzalez said...

adorable! I need to do this!

curlyqmosaics said...

What a great way to fancy up a sweater! Love the frills...so fun & fabulous!

Revlie said...

this is gorgeous! can you please inform me about prices & possibilities of sponsoring on your blog, can't seam to find a link or email. revlie.schuit [at] gmail.com thanks!

Playing with Paper said...

So creative!! Great idea and so pretty!!!

Marion said...

So cute!!! Absolutely love this idea and will be sure to steal it :)
You are so wonderful - talented, funny, creative, sweet... thanks for sharing with us!

Ella Swan said...

This is such a cute idea - can't wait to make some myself as I have tons of those sweaters!

Rosamerliza said...

Ciao! Lizzy sei bravissima sia a scrapbooking che nel cucito creativo...Fantastico e chic maglia! Dall'Italia con affetto ROSA!!

Charin Adams said...

You clever girl :) Love it!!

Wati Basri said...

awesome idea girlie :)

Ale said...

Awesome, love it!! Thanks for sharing Liz!♥

Jen Avila said...

Adorable! Thanks for sharing. :)

Amy said...

I love this! What a fab idea- thanks for sharing!!

Anonymous said...

Brilliant and beautiful...

B said...

What a great idea - thanks for sharing!

~ www.billiemonster.com ~

Unknown said...

wow!so cute makeover!i will definitely try to do it on a sweater of mine! :-)

Steph Jacobson said...

So cute! This will be perfect to go with the skirt I'm planning on making for Easter (but of course haven't had time to make yet).

Raquel said...

Too cute! I wish I had those talents, I just super glued some hems lol

christy said...

I would have never even considered changing a cardigan like that and I LOVE the idea. How sweet and creative!

Anne said...

So cute!

Anne said...

This is so beautiful! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-crepe-ruffled-cardigan/2011/04/03/

--Anne

Unknown said...

So precious! I love this idea ~ thanks for sharing!

jamie said...

fabric in hand and i am doing this. love it. i am afeared now that many of my lonely tops and sweaters will not be safe.

angie said...

This turned out really cute! What a simple way to revitalize your wardrobe. Great job!

Robin said...

Too cool. Going to the thrift stores tomorrow to find some old sweaters. I am going to try this on a pullover sweater and cut an opening down the front then ruffle it. Thanks for the inspiration.

his little lady said...

What a brilliant idea! Too cute. Thanks for sharing!

http://ericplustanya.blogspot.com