Refashionista | Lacy Cardigan

About three weeks ago I found this image on Pinterest:



Anthropologie website.

Isn't this so cute??!!! Well I thought so. My next question was: which of my cardigans do I like the least that I could add lace to it? And why the least favorite cardigan? Because if it had lace on it I would wear it a whole lot more than I am right now. :)

Three days ago I found this image on the blog Adventures of Lauren:

Here is my cardigan before the refashion:

And here is my cardigan now:

This was a surprisingly easy project and I really love the results! I've already picked this cardigan out of my closet over others three times! That's already wearing it more times than I did this month last year!

Tutorial

The curtain I used for the lace.

1. Pick your lace. I used the ruffle part from an old curtain I had in my stash of random fabrics. (Nothing ever goes to waste around me!)

Cutting too wide lace in half.

2. Prepare the lace for pinning/sewing. The lace I used had a lovely surged edge which made it that much easier to sew onto the cardigan. If you have a serger I recommend using it on the lace! If the lace is too wide then cut it in half and use one half for each side. This is what I did for mine. I put the raw, un-surged edge next to where the buttons were and then the surged edge was on the outside.

Pinning the lace in place.

3. Choose a side of the cardigan to do first (I did the left side first, but it doesn't matter either way). At the top of the cardigan pin the lace in place along the neck line. I pinned the lace down a little ways on the first side but the on right side I didn't.

Sew along the top edge.

4. Sew the lace down across the TOP of the cardigan ONLY.

This is what the lace looks like once the top and bottom of the lace have been sewn down. Notice the bubble in the fabric. I put that behind the presserfoot so I wouldn't accidently run over it while stitching down the end on the inside.

5. Pin the lace down to the bottom. Flip the cardigan over. Pin the extra bit of lace down on the inside. Now turn the cardigan back over and remove a few pins from the top side. You are going to be sewing down the bottom of the lace, but you don't want to sew through the top side lace. Go to the sewing machine. Sew the bottom part of the lace on the INSIDE down ONLY. I used a small zig-zag stitch on the lace where it wouldn't be seen, but the rest of it I used a regular stitch on. Cut any strings which will be under the top lace once it is sewn in place.

6. Now pin the middle part of the lace down starting at the TOP and working toward the bottom of the cardigan. Make sure to catch the lace on the inside near the bottom so it can be secured as well. Start by sewing down the side of lace closest to the buttons. Again, start at the TOP and sew down toward the bottom to avoid a bubble in the cardigan fabric.

The left side is finished!

7. Repeat steps 3-6 on the other side of the cardigan.
8. Cut any strings which may be left after you are finished sewing.

Your cardigan is now ready for wear!

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