DIY: Deconstructed Sweatshirt Refashion

If you follow my facebook page you’ll know that I found this thrifted (£1.50) sweatshirt a while ago. I’d been looking for a suitable specimen for ages so when I came across this little minty green number (don’t ask me what happened in the photo on the left. It’s definately not turquoise) I thought it would make the perfect piece for a chilly Spring (which let’s face it, we’re stuck with!); and the other day I finally got around to giving it a new look…

One of the things that appealed to me about trying out a sweatshirt refashion was that the fabric doesn’t fray. No need for seam finishes or any of that hemming malarkey. Yay for that! So I decided to take full advantage of this fabric’s properties, and see how little sewing it would take to transform it (Lazy? Moi? Occasionally ;). I went for a slightly “de-constructed” look and let me tell you…it took under 10 minutes of actual sewing….kaBOOOM! So if that complete lack of effort appeals to you and you want to give this a go…here’s what I did:

1) Cut off the neckband ribbing
2) Cut off the hemline ribbing
3) Cut off the sleeves, then put on inside out and pin to fit on both sides.
4) Stitch new side seams and cut away excess close to the stitching line

I cut a slightly scooped hem too:

1) Establish the centre front line and use a pin to mark where you want the highest point of your hem to be
2) Fold the sweatshirt in half along the centre front, matching up the side seams (if you have them, but mine didn’t) and the hem line.
3) Using a curve if you need to, mark your new scooped hemline and cut. Make sure the first and last 3-4mm at least, are at right angles to the Centre Front and Centre Back respectively. This makes for a smooth curve with no peaks or indents on the centre lines.

When I tried it on at this stage I didn’t like the sleeve length. The original garment had a dropped shoulder (ie where the armhole extends past the shoulder slightly). Looking at the original shoulder seam, it occurred to me, that it was kinda where I like my shorter kimono style sleeves to sit anyway. So I literally just cut along that seamline to remove the excess sleeve…

That left me with enough fabric to add a little patch pocket detail to the front. Leaving the edges unfinished tied it in with the overall finish….

So…5-10 minutes of cutting, 5 minutes of fitting, under 10 minutes of sewing makes…..YEP!!!….a 30 minute project! Whip one of these up while the dinners cooking OR while your other half is hogging the bathroom/you are on hold with some crappy call centre/your little one is deciding which DVD he wants on/ (Delete as appropriate/relevant. Does that give you an insight into my day. lol? Yep, ALL of these things took 30 mins! And we wonder where the day goes! 😉