Thursday, January 31, 2008

Project: Recycled Sweatshirt Jacket

So I saw this pattern in the last Keepsake Quilting catalog and it inspired me. Why couldn't I take an old pullover sweatshirt and make it new? With only the dismantled sweatshirt as my guide, I jumped into the process of recycling clothing - which I actually love to do, with shirts and pants that no longer fit or have holes, but this added a whole new dimension. When I adjust shirts and pants, they still look like the original...this looks like something completely new!
The more I look at it, the more of a NFL stadium style jacket look it has...I don't like stadium jackets (no offense to anyone who does), so I'm thinking it needs a bit of tailoring, some darts maybe to give it shape, etc. But I need to consult my sewing advisor (Mum) before I do anything with it.
Despite that whole stadium jacket thing, I am quite proud of myself. I took my time, I ripped out any mistakes and fixed them rather than saying screw it and leaving them (which I have been known to do...often...because I'm too lazy to fix it).
The arms made me want to scream, though! I finally got them on and remotely, kinda sorta looking the same (though one is a little bigger than the other).
I was very happy with the collar and the front trim - it was much easier than I thought. And to personalize it, I added my own label! I probably should have done a lining, since the inside is, uh...raw seam ugly, but I'm not that advanced in my sewing yet.
So that's what's new from the sewing room. I think with the next one, I'll play a little more, definitely add darts before I finish it, maybe make the front a little funkier (like with the pattern that inspired me) and make it a little more artistic...I'm very drawn to circles and circular patterns right now - like this and this and this. But the next will be in blue (I already have the fabric picked out).

2 comments:

Louise said...

I'm always amazed at people who can sew their own clothes. What a fantastic skill, one I'm far, far, far from ever realising. xo lj

sweatshirt said...

These look great. I will be sure to tell others about this blog.