DIY tailoring a thrift store (or any shirt I’m sure) sweater.

Started by resizing the sweater per Kathleen’s tutorial HERE.

1. Turn the sweater inside out and put it on. Pinch the sweater at your underarm and pin where it hugs your underarm.

2. Pinch the sleeve where it hugs your arm. Pin.

3. Pinch at the bustline. Pin.

4. When you are pinning make sure that the seam is in the middle of your pins (ie make sure that both sides of the sweater are even at the body and sleeves.

5. Keep pinning the whole way down the side of your body. Do the same for the opposite side. Remove from body carefully because there are pins.

6. Sew a line of stitches along where your pins fall. Take them out as you go. Then lay flat on a hard surface.

7.  Cut off excess. Turn right side out and wear!

Put the sweater on inside out and pin excess starting under the arm and ending at the hip. Carefully (very carefully unless you want to become a pin cushion) remove the sweater. Stitch along the pinned line. Put the sweater back on to check the fit.

If it looks good, go ahead and trim off the excess. (This reminds me of a nip and tuck surgery. {Sigh} If only trimming fat was this easy.)

Next, grab some of those adorable felt roses we made the other day. (Rose tutorial HERE)  Lay them onto the sweater and play with the placements.

When you are happy with the roses, pin them on with safety pins.

Sew on the roses with needle and thread.
And remove the safety pin once the rose is secure.

That’s it. Beautiful new cardigan from a $3 Goodwill sweater!