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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, pretty lace and bead sweater embellishment

I am always on the lookout for cute crewneck cardigans, classy and classic in nice colors and fibers.  And, a great fit is important, too.  I like to find them at Goodwill and such partly just because they're good basics that can be made over into cute embellished looks!  I love the contrast of a classic style with a funky new twist.  So when I found this BP Nordstrom cardigan at Goodwill in a color I wasn't super excited about, I knew it would be a good candidate for a makeover!
I actually wore it once without any embellishment, but dressed it up with a statement necklace and thought I looked okay.  But once I had some time, I pulled out the trim drawer and looked around.  I found some very wide burgundy lace that I cut into a square shape.  I gathered the center of it to make it into a bow, and sewed it on by hand to the front of the sweater.  I went all the way around the lace to sew it all down, letting the gathers take the shape they wanted.

I also had some little maroon iridescent seed beads that I sewed onto the center of the bow!
Look up close and you can see the faint sparkle of the tiny beads...
It was super easy and fun, and now I have a more interesting cardigan!

11 comments

  1. Beautiful! That really gave the sweater life.

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  2. Oh my goodness, you are so creative! I love the embellishment that you did.

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  3. Oh! That's cute! Gosh, you give me so many ideas I get excited thinking about it. :)

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  4. That's adorable! I need to look at cardigans the way you do!

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  5. how fun! I adore lace, but I don't always know how to use it on garments. This is a good idea.

    Now, a question: I want to cut a crewneck down the middle to make a cardigan. I did one sweater makeover (blogged here http://thriftathome.blogspot.com/2010/12/refashioning-hoodie.html). I'm worried that I'll get a curly - lettuce edge again, which is not what I want. I'm planning to bind the raw edges and then put on buttons and make buttonholes. Can you give me advice on machine sewing sweaters so they don't curl?

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  6. I bought a beautiful blue cardigan at the Goodwill awhile ago, and the tag said "BP". Since I don't normally shop at Nordstroms, I didn't know that's where it was from. Thanks for making me feel even better about my $5 purchase :)

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  7. great colors! love the lace detail. very sweet.

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  8. Ugh, I am ALWAYS looking for little cardigans like ths in my local charity shops and I never find them! The embellishment looks really pretty

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  9. This is SO cute! I really want to work on doing some appliques on my cardigans this winter!

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  10. Love it! One of my favorite things to do is find thrift store items and updating them! Such a good feeling to wear them and know you only spend a few dollars

    http://www.etsy.com/shop/SinceSass

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