BUTTONED UP! (it's a how-to)

I am WAY more of a cardigan girl than I am a plain-ol' sweater girl. My theory? The more layers - the happier I am! Sew... when I needed a black and white polk-me-dotted cardigan, could I find one?

No.

However, I did find a sweater. And... me being the determined hard-head that I am... decided I could just turn it in to a cardigan.

Had I ever done that before?

No.

BUT! It's not that hard!!! And I'm not kidding you - I spent MAYBE an hour making it happen!

Here's how I did it:

Grab a sweater that is a size tooooooo big for you - turn it inside-out and fold the front in half.

Then get really destructive and CUT right up the middle.

Grab some Single Fold Bias Tape and iron the folds out so that it is flat.

Pin it right sides together leaving about 3/4 of an inch extra tape at the neckline and the hem.

And stitch it. I used an 1/8" seam.

Do both sides that way.  :)

After you are "in stitches", fold the tabs on the top and bottom in/under, then fold and pin the Bias Tape in/under to the inside of the sweater...

And stitch. And then stitch again. I did a stitch line an 1/8" in... and then an 1/8" in from the other side.

I really hope all of this is making sense... I know what I'm talking about - I'm hoping it's coming out of my fingers the same way it is stitching it's way through my brain sew that YOU know what I'm talking about!

VOILA! You have a cardigan front! Now... pick some buttons and sew 'em on... then mark where your button holes need to go.

And make your button holes. Oh... if you have the button hole attachment foot for my sewing machine, can I have it back? Please? I will pay the ransom in cardigans.

Now you are all buttoned up. Sew EASY, right?!

"the Mama" raised me in polk-me-dots, lace, red, BIG BOWS, and some pearls... sew as soon as it is LESS THAN 189 DEGREES here in my 'hood...

I will wear this.

comin' to you LIVE from a single-wide that could be filling up with sweaters sew that I can turn them in to cardigans... that was really fun! Are you going to try it?