Thrifty Gifty #11—Hat and Mittens from Sweater

Joining Works for Me Wednesday because up-cycling sweaters WFM!
Second Thrifty Gifty link-up party this Friday! Please join me with your thrifty gift ideas!

I told you to stock up on sweaters, didn’t I? This was actually a bit of a flop for me, but just because it turned out too small for the intended child. The idea is doable, and I’ll probably try it again, because Skippy really liked it.

I had this thrift store lambswool sweater in my stash. I washed and dried it once, so it wasn’t tightly felted because I wanted some stretch left.

Skippy wanted me to replicate his favorite hat. We tested it out, and the neck of the sweater was a perfect fit for his head, so I wanted to keep the neck intact to use as the bottom edge. I think that’s what caused the problem, because in order to avoid cutting the neck, I ended up with this weird shape.

Once I sewed up the sides and turned it right side out, it looked kind of like a gnome hat. The sweater wasn’t quite big enough to make it as long as the original hat.

For the mittens, I had traced Skippy’s hand, and I used the bottom edge of the sweater along the side seam to cut them out. They actually turned out pretty cute, but unfortunately, still a little small for Skippy. I guess I didn’t leave a big enough seam allowance.

The boy likes them a lot anyway, and took them to bed with him.

Well, the idea was good; the execution, not so much. I may try a different style of hat for Craig next.

Cost for this one, $2 for the sweater.