Sweater into Dress

I have been retrieving items from my Goodwill pile, so that I can try my hand at repurposing (making something new out of something old). For this project, I took a cotton sweater and refashioned it into a dress for a 2-year old. I love sweater dresses for girls, and this sweater is especially soft and washable. And it's easy on the budget!

I searched the internet for tutorials to help me out with this sweater makeover. There was one site that was most helpful in guiding me through the project, though I made some modifications (click here to see a very cool blog).

My old sweater:

First I trimmed the sweater into the shape of a dress, using another dress of my daughter's as a rough guide for length and width. The collar was carefully removed to make into the dress's new collar. And the sleeves were cut to use for the little dress sleeves.


I used the cap sleeves of the sweater (below) for the dress sleeves.

I folded each one in half, inside out. Then I pinned and sewed each one, creating sleeves that looked about the right size for a 2-year old arm (a tube shape, open on both ends). I was able to retain the hem from the original sleeve, which saved time and effort.

I used a zigzag stitch exclusively on this project.

After sewing the sleeves, I trimmed off the excess and then cut them at an angle on the end where they attach to the dress, so that they'd fit into the dress better. I just eyeballed it.

Next I pinned the sleeves into the dress by inserting the sleeve into the dress, right sides together, and pinned carefully. I cautiously pinned so as to leave a small space above the sleeve where the top of the shoulder lies, so that I didn't catch the sleeve while I sewed the small stretch of shoulder between the sleeve and the collar (not shown very well in this photo).

The picture below is a sleeve in the process of being sewn into the dress. I have this impatience issue when it comes to sewing projects. Once I decide to make something, I want to do it RIGHT NOW. And if that means using brown thread on a purple project, then so be it. I thought the brown actually blended really nicely, and it saved me a trip to the fabric store.

I sewed the pieces together in this order: 1) From bottom hems to armpits (because I didn't want to mess up my intact bottom hem band); 2) Across shoulders; 3) Sleeves onto dress. I did a lot of backstitching at the parts that would need to stretch, like the armpits. Here it is with the cute sleeves attached. Now we just need a collar!


Or maybe not just a collar. At this point, I realized that I didn't like the way the dress bubbled out and then came back in on the bottom hem. I wanted it to be more A-line, so I used some fabric chalk to draw straight lines down the sides of the dress, and re-sewed the side seams from the chest area all the way down to the bottom of the dress, following the chalk lines.

The collar was easier than I thought it would be. I pinned on the collar I'd removed, right sides facing, stretching out the collar a little as I pinned. After sewing a few inches on one side, I got worried that it wouldn't fit over her head. As I didn't want to wait until my girl got up from her nap (the patience thing again), I just trimmed the collar opening a little wider on one side (I'm also not very good with that whole measure twice rule.). You can see how one shoulder is slightly narrower than the other, but I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

After that, it was done! I held my breath as I tried it on my daughter. Phew! It fits.



Now I'm just trying to decide if I should sew on this snappy IKEA flower, or just leave it in its pure purpley glory. What's your vote?


Side Note:
While hunting online for tips, I came across dozens of ideas for using old wool sweaters (bags, clothes, diaper covers, jewelry, etc.). I'm lamenting the fact that I gave away all of my wool sweaters before moving to Texas, because I could have made some great stuff out of them. So before you cart your old sweater off to the thrift store, think of me (or think of what YOU could make)!