Sunday, January 10, 2010

Argyle, head to toe

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

dress and longies from felted sweater

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!)

5 comments:

Andi said...

Hey, could you ask your model to dust under the kitchen island too? It's needs some serious attention (and not in the form of eating insulation from the square hole there!)

So crafty, AND foxy, that Lise.

Luisa said...

so cute. what a great idea turning the sweater upside for a turtle neck. The cabinets look great what a relief

Karen said...

That is possibly the cutest baby outfit I have ever seen!
And very resourceful, too. I am impressed that you could look past the 80s shoulder pads and come up with something so lovely for your little girl.
Cheers -
Karen

Julie said...

Wow Lise! If only we could have looked that good back in the 80's and 90's:)

Lise said...

Thanks!

I can't wait to make another!