Argyle, head to toe

It's finished! Here's the refashion I hinted about the other day...



It was time for yet another pair of longies. So a while ago, I'd pulled out a pile of felted sweaters whose arms seemed about the right width and length for Lucy right now. Among them was this one. Naturally, I forgot to take a "before" shot, but you can picture it: a grey, pink, and white argyle sweater; 1990s style, with big shoulder pads. Ick. But when I spotted it at the thrift store, I knew it had potential for a baby.

So I chopped off the legs and did the usual thing. When I was finished, I was left with the body of the sweater, and the pattern was too cute to chop up into shorties. I wondered if I could make a dress.

And I did!

I took a favorite knit dress of Lucy's and laid it on the sweater to see if it might work. I'd originally thought "jumper," but realized there was enough fabric for a short-sleeved dress. I also decided to turn the sweater upside down so I could use some of the waistband as a finished neckline. As I positioned my model dress on top of the sweater, I realized the waistband could make a turtleneck. How cozy!

I wasn't sure if it would be too tight going over her head, so I left one side of the turtle open, and used a scrap to make a flap for a buttonhole. I decided to finish the other edges (sleeves, hem) with embroidery floss, using a blanket stitch, because I am still not satisfied with my results when I finish felted wool on my machine. I added a little pocket to break up the big expanse of grey on the lower part of the dress.

The resulting dress has a strangely grown-up style, but with its matching longies is so comfy and cozy like pjs, it's perfect for a baby. Good for a baby's work...like dusting under the couch:



(I tried and tried to get a shot of the turtleneck with its cute pink button, but my model is very active!)