Convert a Pullover to a Cardigan

Original Sweater :
Banana Republic Chunky Knit Pullover
Collar & Front Bands Yarn:
Gjestal "Naturgarn #1"
Color:
210 - Electric Blue
Gauge:
14sts/20 rows over 4"
Needles:
#10 & #10.5
Type:
Fusion

Last year, at the end of the winter season I picked up a chunky wool hand knit funnel-neck shell from Banana Republic. It was in my favorite colors! It was wild and variegated. It was $9.99!~

The Super Plan was to turn it into a Cardigan. That's right, add sleeves, a zipper and a new improved Crew Neck. Here's what it looked like to begin with:

I've opened the neck seams to get ready to frog the funnel down to the primary neck edge. I'll use the yarn I harvest to finish off the bottom of the cardi with a few rows of ribbing.

Next comes the FUN part - STEEKING! This is where, after you mark the center of the piece, sew a couple of rows of stitches vertically down the *Ladders* between stitches or through the vertical center of stitches themselves. I used regular sewing thread and a machine to do this. After you've secured the center front, you CUT the piece open and VOILA - cardi galore!

here's the shell after stitching and cutting...

WHOOT! This is almost as fun as felting! In the same naughty way, you are doing something On Purpose that you usually avoid, in this case, actually using a sharp instrument to CUT the yarn!

hey, now it's a vest~

And NOW the FUN ramps up even more! One of ChicKnits Top Ten New Year's Resolutions of 2005 is the edict to Wear More Color! Back away from the Black - get back On Track with some Bright, Cheerful, MODERN TONES!

How about a little BLUE?

While it drips and drizzles in the drabby day sky,
I am BRIGHTENED by my other little fixUp project.


the Shell that wanted to be a Cardi

After stitching and cutting open the front of the shell and finishing the neck edge with a mock turtleneck, I was ready to make a band for the zipper. (ZIPPER! Does any garment going through the works ESCAPE Zippering this season? Apparently NOT... teeheeheee!)

Using a size C crochet hook and some beautiful Electric Blue yarn

I picked up stitches to make the band.

Here's a close-up of the hook going into the front behind the stitching. Because this is such bulky yarn, I am only allowing 2 rows for the band facing. (The Band Facing is the part that will fold over and be on the wrong side of the garment after the band is knitted.) If it was a smaller gauge yarn, I would make the facing 3-4 stitches wide.

After all the stitches are picked up, I knit a few rows then bound off the band (zipper to be added later as the closure).

Then I used regular sewing thread to tack the Band Facing down. Because this yarn is rather fuzzy, the fiber itself will *grab* its other fuzzy neighbor fibers and they'll *handshake* together forming a solid join...

Borrowing the instructions from a previous bulky pattern I designed, I knit new sleeves and sewed them into the armhole spaces.

Before

After



TAKE:
one cheap end-of-season bulky wool shell
ADD:
3 skeins of bulky NEON wool
BLEND:
in a Mock Turtleneck and Contrasting Sleeves
SHAKE:
with a Zipper
ENJOY:
the cheerful late-winter-bustin' COLOR!
of your new work Jacket!!!