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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

Pretty silk sweater makeover

I got this sweater ages ago at Goodwill Outlet.  It's a lovely silk blend, in a sort of boring shape, with a print that reminded me of some arts Anthro tops and pieces.
Not only was it boxy and plain in style, it was also too big.  So, I made it over!

I took a big tuck out of the center back, since it was just too much too big to take in the side seams.  I tapered it so I took more out of the waist than out of the neckline.  I cut down the center front and used some vintage navy cotton hem braid to finish the edges.  There's enough room that I could add hook and eye closures (I think I will next time I sit down to a good movie.  I hate hand sewing!).

I also added some decorative shapes and trim out of vintage ric rac.  I love using the old stuff since it's 100% cotton!  Here's how it turned out:
And here's the back (you can see there's a seam there, but, oh well.  It fits so much better that way).
Fun!

29 comments

  1. That is stunning!! You took a sweater that was basically out of style, and turned it into a piece that could have come from anthropologie. It is gorgeous!!!

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  2. AAhhh I love the bins! Always great finds there. Awesome what you did with it :)

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  3. Wow! It's really nice. Great job!

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  4. Wow, it turned out great. I have a few sweaters that my fiance was getting rid of sitting in my "to do" pile, but I've been scared of trying to sew a sweater. Maybe I'll have to give it a try.

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  5. Anonymous11/10/2010

    very pretty!!

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  6. Wow! This sweater is lovely. And I like the back of it. It is much more interesting now.
    And I also don`t like hand sewing.
    http://icoulddothis.blogspot.com/

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  7. incredible - so much better as a cute cardigan - the print is gorgeous!

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  8. Lovely job! Looks great. How about some loops and buttons instead of hooks?

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  9. i have a top i bought for 99 cents at tjmaxx for this same reason! it'll be a cute cardigan!

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  10. The fabric is so great! It's hard to even tell that it's the same thing! I love the blue braid!

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  11. Anonymous11/10/2010

    This is so cute! You are always inspiring me to look at old things in a new light. What a great way to recycle an okay sweater into something beautiful!

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  12. I love it! Turned out great. =)

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  13. That sweater turned out lovely you really updated it and made it your own.

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  14. Super cute! I looooove the fabric. You did a beautiful job of rescuing it, though I'm not 100% sure about the ric-rac - it's adorable, but detracts from the pattern.

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  15. Very nice makeover. You´re so clever!

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  16. What a great sweater make-over!

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  17. it's so beautiful, what a great job!!!!

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  18. Brilliant idea.
    I guess you never wore it before and now you'll probably never take it off again? ;)
    I like the make over you made.

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  19. Fantastic! You've inspired me to makeover a way-too-large cardigan I purchased a while ago without trying on that just fits too baggy and keeps falling off my shoulders. It'll be so cute made-over similarly to this project!

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  20. Beautiful work! So inspiring :)

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  21. I love it! Really, the print is fabulous but the original sweater was definitely not wearable... the end result however, is stunning!

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  22. Gorgeous!!! Love Love Love!!

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  23. Very cute! I really like this makeover!

    I'm a regular lurker and I've never posted. But I think this a terrific job on a basic t-shirt. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Keep up the good work1

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  24. Super cute! I don't think the back seam is bad at all.

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  25. I actually have a sweater in that material. It's a tank top and I have worn it for years. I guess the print went out of style for a few years but it's back in now! Glad I hung on to it. Your sweater re-do it beautiful.

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