Today's little craft project is turning this Goodwill purchased alpaca sweater into a lovely rose covered bag. Since I spent the weekend cleaning out the camel house I figured I deserved something beautiful and not smelling like poo!
The sweater was a mens X-large that is felted (washed in hot and dried on hot twice until it shrunk to a large child's size sweater...you know it felted when you can no longer see the stitches and it will not unravel when cut)
I paid $3.00 for the sweater...
I found two sweaters with this tag...lucky me!
Start by cutting off the sleeves just inside the arm-hole seams
Next cut at the neck...
I lined up a straight edge across the bottom of the armpits to make sure my neck cut would be as deep as my arm cuts.
Try to make the arm curves and the neck curves match...I had to fool with it a little after these pics to get them even.
These will be your handles
After you cuts are made shift the sweater around till the handles line up.
Next is the bottom of the bag...you don't have to do this, you can just sew the bottom together straight away but I needed the extra room.
I used one of the sleeves I cut off for this. I made mine about 4 inches wide by the same length as the bottom of my sweater.
Turn your sweater inside out and at the bottom edge of the sweater pin your bottom piece, right sides together.
Now how does one fit a square cornered bottom piece into a curved sweater hem?
Well I put a little tuck in the corners of the bottom piece...all pointing in...to make it match up better to the sweater.
Stitch along the bottom where you pinned, feed the sweater into the machine. Don't pull from the back it will stretch and warp the sweater.
Turn right side out.
Now you have a perfectly useful wool bag.
But...
when I noticed all those scraps I knew I just could not let them go to waste.
So I played around with them a little...
Hmmmm...maybe roses?
So I made a couple of roses by handstiching them as I wound them around
And if two were good...
Nine were better, with leaves to boot!
All made from the scraps and hand sewn on.
And what am I going to do with my newly created bag?
It is my new knitting bag!
I love the ribbing on the bottom...no hiding what this used to be!
There you have it...a thrift store sweater turned new rose knitting bag!
So everybody run...don't walk...to your nearest thrift store and grab a armful of wool sweaters. Let loose your creative genius that I know is hiding in there!
Have fun!
Update...I have also made a ruffled laptop bag out of an old wool sweater. The tutorial is here.
