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How to Sew a Recycled Sweater

Opting to recycle clothing is not only a nice environmental consideration, it's also great for your pocketbook. You can resize larger clothing items, such as sweaters, down to smaller sizes, or shape them into different styles. Choose hand-me-down sweaters with only minor damage, unless you plan to do weaving repairs. Whether you're an experienced seamstress or not, a mannequin or human model can make the job of reshaping and resizing easier. You'll need to know arm, torso and neck measurements to properly rescale the old sweater to fit. Then, apply common sewing techniques to stitch up the seams, add new pockets or alter the sleeves.

Things You'll Need

Tape measure
Old sweater
Sewing chalk
Scissors
Thread
Needle
Sewing machine
Mannequin (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Take measurements of the intended wearer of the recycled sweater. Using the tape measure, determine the measurements around hips, chest and waist. Take measurements for arm length and from the back for the length between the middle of the neck to the hip line.
- 2
  Acquire a used, oversize sweater that is too large for the expected wearer. Figure the sweater size by either using the measuring tape or by visual inspection if the sweater is obviously several sizes too big.
- 3
  Turn the sweater inside out. Use sewing chalk to mark where smaller seams should be. Place the measuring tape across the sweater at the chest, waist, hips and waist and mark off the corrected sizes onto the fabric. Mark off the correct length for sleeves in the same manner. Draw solid lines by connecting the marks along seams for better visibility.
- 4
  Baste along the chalk lines. Turn the sweater right side out and put it on the mannequin or your human model. Repeat the sizing adjustments until satisfied.
- 5
  Machine-stitch along all fitted basted seams.
- 6
  Cut excess fabric from along, but not to, the edge of the new seams. Leave a ¾-inch wide inseam for finely woven fabrics, such as cashmere, and a ¼-inch inseam for bulky knits. Surge or hand-stitch seams for fine weaves and use a blanket stitch on thick weaves to prevent fraying.

Sewing