Why Don't You Make Me?: The Sew Free 10-Minute Sweater Makeover

I know this tutorial would have been more helpful yesterday morning but I didn't even have the idea until yesterday morning and then there were cupcakes to bake, cards to catalog and fascinators to fasten.  Let's just call this post a jump start for next year.  I'm so ahead of the game.  

To make this sweater I took an existing boxy red cardigan that I never wear (due to boxiness), added $.69 worth of eyelet lace and in 10 minutes came out with something that I absolutely love!  

(Plus, and this is just between me and you, I hot glued that shit on there.)  

 For this project you will need:

• a sweater that could use some snazzing up
• 1 yard of eyelet lace
• glue gun/glue stick
• scissors
• cutting mat or piece of cardboard
• 1-2 seemingly oblivious cats

Begin by cutting your yard of lace into 8 equal parts.  The lace I'm using is an antique white eyelet lace I got for $.69, can't beat that.  You can use whatever your little heart desires and/or whatever's on sale.  

Be sure to get a second opinion on whether or not the parts are equal.  It's best if your helper ignores you the entire time she's sitting on the project you're working on.  

Now, slide an appropriately sized cutting board, piece of cardboard, some paper, etc inside of the sweater to keep from gluing the front to the back. 

Lay out your lace to see how you'd like it to look.  I like the standard tuxedo on the left side but ultimately decided to go with the more heart shaped configuration on the right.  

Add a small amount of glue to only the band of the lace a little bit at a time and begin to glue the lace to your sweater.  

**Make sure this is a sweater that you're ok with altering forever.  Once dried this will not be removable.**  

Glue down the top of the lace and then work your way down, adding glue as you go and secure the lace every inch or so into your desired shape.

Your ends will look like this when you're done, not very pretty. 

Just trim off the excess lace with some scissors to make it look right.  

And you're done.  

In 10 minutes you've turned a plain old sweater that lives in the back of the closet into brand new custom tuxedo front cardigan that now get's it's very own hanger.  This would also be a great idea for a tank top, a t-shirt or even a throw pillow.  The possibilities are endless. 

364 days left until next Valentine's day.
I'm so on top of things.  

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