I
have a theory that certain inanimate items have the ability to breed. I'm positive
that mugs do this; put two mugs in a cabinet, close the door, and when you next
open it there will be five or more. (Admit it, you’ve noticed this phenomenon
too.) Stuffed animals do it. Small picture frames. Lots of things.
Wire
hangers multiply, yes, but I ran across another explanation for those. Several
years ago I was at a yard sale in California and got into conversation (as I am
wont to do), and the guy explained his theory to me: socks have a tendency to
disappear, while wire hangers increase. So he decided that socks are the larval
form of wire hangers. Made total sense to me.
Of
course I am inordinately fond of a good crackpot theory.
Anyway,
I realized recently that sweaters might possibly be another category of
multipliers. I admit I do buy them and bring them home and felt them, and that
Judy has given me several from her closet clean-outs. But I actually went through
my garaging spread sheet that now dates back ten years (ten years! how is that possible?!), and the data there does not
support the amount of sweater material in my stash.
Too
much! Too many! Let’s have Sweater Day!
And
so I gathered together my buddy & SIL Linda and pals Judy and KK last
Thursday to make things with sweaters. My goal, I told them, was to drastically reduce
these three chock-full boxes. And to have a good time.
Oh
my, did we have a good time. And we made things. But my sweater stash still
fills three large boxes. They all brought more sweaters with them!
Judy
arrived reminding us that she does not sew. No matter, we kept saying. And
within five minutes she had come up with the first upcycle – a new hat from one
of the sleeves I took off of ZoĆ«’s latest garment.
I
just whapped a rubber band around it for the moment and later cut off the top
and gathered and stitched the top shut. It can be worn at least two ways, and
the rest of the sleeves can be matching fingerless mitts.
Judy
was also the inspiration for another idea we’ve all embraced. She mentioned a
while back that she wears an old holey cashmere sweater for an undershirt when it's
cold. I had picked up a kitten-soft cashmere from the Goodwill bins a while
back and found I just kept petting it. Too small for me to wear, but then that
light bulb went off. Undershirt!
I removed the sleeves and opened them along the
seam, opened up the side seams of the sweater, and sewed in the sleeves to make
it big enough for me. It's the perfect extra layer of warmth and took all of
about ten minutes to make. We all now have cashmere undershirts. Linda liked a two-toned look for hers.
Judy
spied a little cream color cashmere that already had one short sleeve missing.
(I have no idea where that sleeve went!) Since you want your undershirt to fit
close to the body, all she had to do was snip off the other sleeve and voila,
hers was ready to go. (I told her she would be able to upcycle without sewing.)
KK
brought a too small, too short black wool that had some holes. She also brought
her felting tool (gotta get me one of those). A few snips from a scrap of an
old wool blanket (most of which was used in my husband’s car to replace the
felt under the carpet that a certain young dog joyfully shredded) and she had
leaves to felt onto the sweater.
A pale green cabled cashmere became sides and
sleeve cuffs. Can’t wait to see what else she does with it!
Linda
worked on another undershirt (pale gray, 85% silk, 15% cashmere)—we’re all
interested to hear how warm that one turns out to be.
She
also began a sweater upcycle that includes a felted wool from Peru and a long
alpaca muffler.
Judy
brought along a few favorite sweaters that didn’t fit just right. This one was
easy, cute but just too boxy. A couple of tucks in the back, secured with
buttons she chose from my stash, and now it feels perfect to her.
This
V-neck we pulled this way and that, trying for something asymmetrical, but
finally realized all it really needs is to be taken in under the arms.
Another
cashmere had three little holes in one sleeve.
Turns out that cashmere fibers
are so smooth they don’t really felt well, so KK’s felting tool didn’t work for
an applique. But I took this little cashmere cord that was just the seam
trimmed off of Linda’s undershirt
and
couched it over the holes. Goodbye holes, hello artsy sweater!
There
is SO much you can do with felted sweaters. I’ve barely scratched the surface
over the years with slippers,
mitts (fingerless mitts are ideal for
reading in bed at night!), hats and mufflers. My cameras have cases of felt.
One
year all my friends got felted roses for Christmas.
My
cats are quite fond of felted wool pillows.
Noll
particularly liked the alpaca one.
If
you go on Pinterest or Flickr and search for felted sweater projects you’ll
find a lifetime of inspiration. I have to admit, making that first cut into a
lovely piece of wool or cashmere can be hard. But since none of our materials
had cost more than a dollar, we went for it, and had a ball.
We
even had a fabulous lunch. I made soup and bread, KK brought fresh fruit salad,
Linda brought homemade brownies. And Judy brought wine!
After
lunch, KK found a twin set in the pile of sweaters, and we thought she was
putting together an undershirt for herself. But no. She was making a KK Original
for Judy. Two short sweaters became a long artsy tunic and bolero.
So
my goal of reducing the sweater stash was not realized, but everyone wants to
have another Sweater Day soon. We may even make it a slumber party! And oh my
goodness, did we have fun.