Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Sweater Hoodie Dress Upcycled Wool Cashmere Rose Cable

Off my cutting mat is this sweater hoodie tunic dress of mostly wool with a touch of cashmere.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/261633081/
The focus of this piece is the cabled, multi-color wool sweater from my closet that I loved but rarely wore. It's a bit scratchy, and the neckline was so high that I could only wear it with a turtleneck shirt. I haven't worn a turtleneck since I left Wisconsin in 2001.  Thus, that sweater sat lonely in my closet waiting for a more useful life. Last week, I decided to upcycle it into something new, cut it apart, and stitch the patches back together with a bunch of other sweaters to make something wearable and wonderful, a cozy piece of art to keep you warm.

I always loved the design of that sweater, but I hated the neckline.  So, I redesigned the neckline to keep the scratchiness off your neck. To do this, I binded the neckline (and the sleeve ends) with soft cashmere in forest green. I used this same cashmere to line the pouch pocket in the front to keep hands cozy and warm. Yup, the pocket is super soft inside.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/261633081/
The cut is a tunic dress that drapes slightly longer on the sides. It has a roomy hood that is still functional.  It isn't so big that it will fall over your eyes when you wear it. When the hood is down, it forms a large wide collar, a large cowl neck, which frames your face and keeps your shoulders warm.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/261633081/
I hand dyed the pretty burgundy sweater on the torso with wool dyes. It is soft fluffy lamb's wool.  The other colors include dark pink, gray, navy, blue, brown, olive, and a touch of golden yellow. The seams are dark pink. 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/261633081/
Most of the seams and hems are professionally sewn with four polyester threads on my serger sewing machine. Some of the finer detailing, I first edged on my serger and then I stitched by hand with pink wool yarn. The hand stitching adds visual interest and gives me more control when assembling the pieces to keep the wonkiness to a minimum, especially around the hands and face. You can see the hand stitching on the sleeve hems, the pouch pocket and the inside of the collar. This sweater very well made, comfortable and warm. It is number 10 in my ongoing series of upcycled sweaters.
https://www.etsy.com/listing/261633081/

This work was inspired by the amazing sweater coats of Katwise, with help from her tutorials. Find her on Etsy here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/katwise

6 comments:

  1. Ale fajne, kolorowe... I ma kaptur! :)

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  2. As ever, I am impressed by your skills at design and execution. I really like the way you put together the pieces, which is to say I like both the pattern and the sewing. However, it still doesn't beat my all time fave, your coat of many colors.

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  3. I think google likes the special spices I put in my comments as they seem to disappear. :) Let me try again.

    I like this; great colors and I like the way you put the pieces together and the seaming is visually appealing. Having said that, I still think your Coat of Many Colors was the best ever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, but that first coat took me two weeks to make. This one took a fraction of that. Plus, this one wastes much less material. So there's that. In terms of the "doing," I prefer the process of making these newer pieces because there is much more improvisation, more problems solving as I go since I'm not using a pattern, per se.

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    2. I understand how that works, I very seldom go back and make something again; I too enjoy the creating something new.

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    3. There is that, but there is also the issue of selling my work. I can't spend two weeks on a coat and expect someone to pay me enough for my time. It was fine to do it once because I learned a lot, and it gave me something to write about.

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