I finally did a sweater recon!!

As you know from previous posts, I have a thing for sweaters and the stuff people make from sweaters. It's a bit of an obsession really. And yet I had not ever done a single thing with a sweater before! Probably because I've never had a sweater I didn't love as-is.

BUT NOT TODAY.

Boyfriend gave me his green and grey argyle sweater, claiming it fit him just fine but he "hated" it. I wasn't so sure about that because I thought he looked awesome in it, but I didn't wait too long to start making plans. 

Originally it was going to be a hat. But then it hit me: I. Need. A. Sweater. Vest. 

Need!!

I got to work on it yesterday:

Big old thing. 

Too big for me, even to wear in a cute, "I'm wearing my boyfriend's sweater" way. 

So I chopped off the sleeves. Even then, there was a ton of extra fabric hanging everywhere, especially the shoulders:

I wanted to keep the bottom ribbing for ease. So the only way to do this was to adjust it from the top. 

I found the ideal height for the shoulder pieces, pinned it, and sewed it. Then I took it in about two inches (each side!). I trimmed back the armholes so they were a decent width for my frame. I cut a deep V in the front and trimmed up all the excess fabric. 

AMAZINGLY, the plain ribbed collar piece I had cut away from the original sweater fit my new neckline perfectly...but only in the front. The back of the neckline would have to be hemmed, as would the armholes. 

I was not a little terrified at this prospect. This was a thin, well-worn, super stretchy fabric. All you had to do was give it the stinkeye and it would stretch out of shape. Bastard sweater wasn't going to win!

I took it slow and steady. That alone is an accomplishment for me. 

Aaaand...

The sewing machine hiccuped a few times, I'll admit. There was a minute there when the all-too-familiar hot tears of failure prickled against the backs of my eyes, as the machine coughed and snagged and bird nested. 

But I fixed it and all turned out well. :)