How I Upcycled a Sweater into a Valentines Day Wreath

Have you seen all of the things you can makes with old sweaters?   I've hesitated to try my hand at any of them because I wasn't sure about sewing something bulky on my sewing machine.   Well, today I tried, and I'm super happy with the results.  

 

I had a white sweater that I was going to wear on Sunday

and when I put it on, I noticed there was a gaping hole right under the turtleneck.

I don't know how it got there and I hope it wasn't there the last time I wore it.

Anyways, now I had the perfect opportunity to do something creative with it.

 

So......I decided to make mittens.

 

I traced around my hand on a manilla folder and cut a mitten shape

 about a 1/2 inch larger than my hand, to use as a template.

 

 

 

I turned the sweater inside out and pinned the template to it.

 

I tried to line it up so that the main pattern on the sweater ran down the middle of the mitten and the bottom finished edge of the sweater would be the top edge of the mitten.

 

Using my sewing machine, I sewed right around the edge of the template.

Then I cut around the stitching leaving about 1/4 inch of "fabric/yarn".

(I was afraid that if I cut the sweater before I sewed it, it might unravel)

 

Lastly, I turned the mitten right side out and then repeated the same process.

 

Only this time, I turned the template over so that the thumb pointed the opposite direction.

This created a right hand and left hand mitten.

 

 

 

I didn't have a clear vision for this project when I started, so I was winging it at this point.

 

I cut hearts from red corduroy fabric and hand stitched them onto each mitten.

(making sure I was only stitching the hearts to the top of the mitten

 and not accidentally stitching the mittens closed)

 

 

 

Next, I folded the tops of the mittens over

 and sewed a piece of burlap ribbon to the inside of each one.

 

 

 

I wired the burlap ribbon to a heart shaped grapevine wreath with floral wire

and also wired on a burlap bow. 

Then I added fresh springs of holly inside of the mittens.

 

 

 

At this point, I was happy with the results.

 

 

 

It's a little rustic, it's a little wintry (since winter doesn't seem to want to go away yet)

and it's full of love for Valentine's Day.

 

This one is going to hang over a mirror inside of our cabin.

 

Here's another rustic Valentines wreath I worked on today for the front door of our cabin.

 

 

 

 

 

I may add something red to it so it pops a little more.

I haven't decided.

What do you think - add something red or leave it alone?

 

Have you made anything from an old sweater? If so, I'd love to know what you made.

I'm ready to make something else, now that I know my machine can handle it. 

 

 

 

'til next time,

        Linking to: Cozy Little House The Happy Housie  Knick of Time Interiors  The Newlywed Pilgrimage Someday Crafts - Valentines Day The Hankful House The DIY Dreamer  Savvy Southern Style Design Dining and Diapers Funky Junk Interiors