How I Made Clothing I Avoided Into A “Go To” Fave

We’ve all done it. Fallen in love, while standing in your favourite clothing shop, or in front of the change room mirror. Or maybe it beckoned from across the store (which is what happened to me for this piece). Then we’ve paid much more than we would have liked, but….we were in love, what could we do?

This is the exact story behind this piece for me. Don’t get me wrong the fabric is top notch, but the honeymoon really ended as they often do with clothing love…the moment I tried to put it into my daily rotation. Something about that stage of shopping is really tricky, I put it on with so much hope and excitement only to be disappointed when I looked in the mirror. I find that part that doesn’t look nice and I fixate. Ugh. If I was totally honest and not being swayed by my heart palpitations, I would have had to admit that this piece is completely impractical for my lifestyle. Ugh lesson learn…again!

This is what I started with.

Then, I never throw it out….or at least I didn’t this time. Never wore it, but never threw it out! WHAT IS THAT?! Maybe it’s because I hope someday I‘ll try it on again and feel differently. But more than likely it’s because I can’t come fully to terms with the fact that I spent that much on something I can’t bear to wear. Now what? It can’t just live out the rest of its life hanging lifeless on the back of my bedroom door?

It started when as I was looking into minimalist packing for an upcoming trip, to a spring weather climate. I’m committed, (God willing) to sticking with carry ons only as I know rolling a heavy suitcase on trains, planes and cobble stone streets is going to be a workout. That means being very careful about what I pack. Each item has to go with everything and it has to be multi functional. Layers, layers, layers. I still am not sure what that means but in the end I’ve been convinced I can’t do it without a beige cardigan. Its a dress up, dress down, scarf on or off piece great for what I am going to need. Only problem, I don’t own one, until I see it hanging in the same place as the day I bought it 2 years ago. Remembering I have a sewing machine now and I have a bit of tenacity.

Opportunity awaited! If I could make this work I could finally be free of the guilt of spending too much money on something I couldn’t bring myself to wear AND fulfill a need now and finally get that piece into my clothing rotation. The final upside of spending too much money in this case is that the fabric quality is quite good. So making it into something I will actually wear is doable and smart.

Here is how I did it.

I carefully laid out the cardigan on a large table, making sure to line the bottom existing hem with the same line on my cutting mat. You could also use a measuring tape and measure the up from the bottom hem to where you would like to cut it. Remember to leave room for finishing and turning the edge.

Once I had it lined up I carefully cut the bottom. Because this was a knit fabric with lots of give I had to recut after seeing that it wasn’t even to the pockets on either side.

Once the fabric was cut I used the cut off piece to practice how I thought I could finish the edge. I am very glad I did this because this particular knit could not be finished in a traditional manor. Everything I sewed would fray the fabric and cause waves. I opted after trying several different options to turn the edge under and straight stitching it in place. I was careful to baste the edge so it would stay put while sewing and avoid any waving or puckering.

Tip: Do not pull fabric through your machine. Make sure your fabrics a very secure and use a ball point needle meant for sewing stretchy fabrics. Also a larger stitch length is helpful.

Finishing the edge was tricky but well worth it. I’m looking forward to getting wear out of it now that it is a more practical length. Hopefully this post will help others take a second look at their closet and how they can reuse what they already own, and maybe with a little adjustment make forgotten items ones we love again.