Refashion | DIY French-Knotted Upcycled Cardigan

thee Inspiration:

French-Knotted Cardigan by Moth

I had been collecting and using thrifted embroidery hoops for years now. Not to sew on or with but as wall decor above my sewing space. Along with the hoops one day I found a bag of brightly colored doilies so I put them together on display. I also found some interesting frames I then turned into another decor piece featuring used measuring tapes (DIY post about it here) and two pin cushions. 

A few years back I got an embroidery thread set from an aunt as a gift and since then it piqued my interest to actually try embroidering by hand. I learned some stitches by watching tutorials on youtube. I bought more thread and I embellished this upcycled denim crossbody bag with it:

Then I saw that grey cardigan from Anthropologie and I thought to myself, it is completely doable. I had this fuchsia cardigan I've worn a couple times. It's not a V-neck but it's plain and could certainly use a little revitalization. The French knot confetti embellishment is perfect.

If you don't know how to make French Knots, check out this video I watched to learn how to make them (they are super simple!): How to Sew a French Knot Stitch by Professor Pincushion

Initially I thought I would be using an embroidery hoop to keep the cardigan nicely stretched but I ended up not really needing it. I guess I should've just used a much smaller hoop instead. It would've helped but I think it turned out fine, you might not need it. This is what I ended up with so far. It's definitely not as full as the Anthro cardi but I can always add onto it. If you have a plain cardigan in need of some flair, just add sprinkles!

☮♥♻

DIY Burlap Fabric Pumpkins

These fabric pumpkins turned out so cute. I found the perfect sized pumpkins by The Spruce. You can get their free sewing pattern here. They have it titled as pumpkin pillows but if you just follow their tutorial for the body, you can add whatever type of stem you'd like and use whatever kind of fabric. I wasn't looking for pillows, more like just for decor but again the sizing of these worked out great. I took the large pumpkin pattern and scaled it up about two sizes more to make the really big pumpkin.

I also found this tutorial for upcycled pumpkins. If I didn't have so much of this fabric already I would've definitely done this one. You can check out the how-to by Evie Bidell, here.

I have had this orange burlap material for years and it never occurred to me that it would be great for some fake pumpkins. It would be good for some fake carrots too but those don't really say fall as much as they do Easter. Anyway there is so much of this material that I was tempted to make huge pumpkins but then I wasn't sure where I would put them since I don't want them outside.

This craft also allowed me to make use of some fabric samples that were from a company I no longer order fabrics from. I took all the green shaded taffeta swatches and some crepe satin but only ended up using the taffeta. Taffeta is awesome to work with because it's stiff, lightweight and you can easily singe the edges. It's basically the paper of fabrics.

For the trunks or stems rather, I got a roll of faux burlap ribbon. I knew I only needed small pieces so I went with the ribbon instead of buying fabric. Added bonus the ribbon has sealed edges making it even easier to work with.

I sort of followed the given pattern for the stems but not really because mine are not as curved nor as tall. I gave them a little stuffing too. For the pumpkin leaves I cut away the pieces of swatches that had glue residue from the booklet they were in and cut out some pumpkiny looking leaves. 

Then I singed the edges of the leaves with a candle and hot glued a little pleat on them. Also hot glued some of the stem edges inward to create a flatter base.

First I glued on the leaves then the stem on top. I added some bows made out of twine for added decoration. It's not much but looks cute all together.

So fabric pumpkins are pretty easy to make whether you sew or not, there are plenty of tutorials out there showing you different methods to get it done. (Just search "no sew fabric pumpkins" on google or Pinterest) Real pumpkins are nice but they are one time deal, they're a fruit (yes, technically because it has seeds) and are better cooked up and eaten than wasted. Make these pumpkins and you can re-use them every autumn. 

Here they are sitting on the piano. The middle pumpkin is almost too big for this spot but I like how they look all lined up. I'm thinking some wooden letters or signs would accompany them really nicely. Maybe like the words "give thanks" or even "fall" would work. I hope you give making your own reusable pumpkin decor a try. 

☮♥♻

Refashion Idea | Adding Jean Sleeves to a Sweatshirt for Textural Contrast

thee inspiration:  Womens Patchwork Sleeve Knit Blouse by SooLinen 

I had leftover jean jacket sleeves after making this denim jacket with contrast chunky knit sleeves. The sleeves were perfect to refashion another top. So I found that blouse on Pinterest and I loved the idea.

(this jacket available here in thee shop)

I took a plain black terry sweatshirt style top and exchanged the sleeves for the jean jacket sleeves. It was important to pick a shirt with drop shoulders so that the sleeves would fit no matter what.

With a seam ripper I took off the bottom portion of the sleeves on the sweatshirt and then cut the jean jacket sleeves to that length.

I sewed the jean jacket sleeves onto the black sweatshirt, serged the raw edges inside together, topstitched and that was it. Came out looking pretty similar if I do say so myself.

☮♥♻