I totally agree! I laughed right out loud at that comment! Thanks for showing us your frustrations and your fixes, Catherine. It's a pleasure spending time with and learning from you😊
I LOVE BOTH SWEATERS BUT THE PINK ONE IS TRULY ADORABLE!!! I would have never thought to needle felt the circles onto the pink sweater as a design element. It is brilliant Catherine. Thank you for teaching us another way to upcycle sweaters. I love thrifting and this technique is amazing.
YES! I love balloons! I just ordered the needless. (My 84 year old uncle was in the hospital and he wasn’t coming home. I bought him 5 helium balloons. He was yelling at people in the hall,and he was a quiet man, to come look at his balloons! No one had ever given him balloons! Of course not, at that age. People should give people surprises and make them smile!) Catherine, you make us smile!
With the green yarn the circles are magically transformed Vinci balloons. I mean How fun is that? Kudos to you & your artsy side. I agree w/you, it looks so cute!!!!
I got my Brother serger at Walmart for under $200 USD. I love it. Its opened up so many possibilities for me. I like this project Catherine. I'm intrigued at the idea of modifying some outdated sweaters.
I've lost 10stone in the last 8 months and really need to pluck up courage to alter more of my clothes. Thank you for this tutorial specifically, it will be a real help.
I LOVE your inspiration. I had a couple sweaters I was going to donate but, instead, I did a little cutting and sewing and now I love them. Thank you for what you do!
On my machine I can only move my needle to the left, but maybe you’re right; I should play around with using the midline as a guide with the needle on the left. Thanks for giving me something to think about!
"Lives are not at stake here . . . " Truer words, my friend! I can't count the times I say to myself 'this has no eternal significance.' Perspective! think the pink raglan is indeed the cutest thing you've done in awhile. Now I want to try it!
Catherine, I find myself watching you on my 65" tv and your instruction and videos are so informative. What I especially like is how you actually show how you style your upcycled pieces. I am very much into denim, I'm sure it's because of my age(lol) but none of my jeans fit my butt, they all gap. I can't seam to get the seam closed down the butt. I've recently lost a lot of weight so nothing fits. Help me if you can.
Those sweaters are so lovely. The dots are a very clever idea and add so much. My sewing machine is supposed to be able to needle felt so it would be a great project to try.
Watching you sew with knitted items got me motivated to finally start and finish a tote bag that incorporated my friend's abandoned crochet project. She had kept the beginnings of a zig-zag crochet afghan for decades and when I saw it I knew it had to see the light of day. I bought fabric for the tote at least two years ago and then it sat until you inspired me to get on with it. Everything worked out. Thanks so much for teaching us not to fear a project.
I love your “new” sweaters. You inspire me so much. I have a problem with inches, we all use centimetres in Europe, but you explain it so clearly and I took a bold step and subscribe. I just started sewing when I retired in oktober three years ago and follow you longer than a year, but first thought I will never do whatever you do. But I am getting more experienced now in sewing and I think I will follow your example and be bold with an old sweater and just try to upcycle it. What is the worst that will happen? I just mess up or it will be wearable again. Thanks for all the inspiration.
I love all your upcycles, so creative and stops clothes going to landfill. You are fortunate that you can find clothes that are too big for you to play around with. I am at the other end of sizing so can never find anything that is too big! Also, we don't have the big thrift stores that you have in North America, we have small charity shops in the UK. I have bought a felting needle though, as I love the idea of needle felting things onto sweaters and particularly loved the big white flower from a few weeks ago. Such fun!!
Most of my machine knit books are from the 80’s when the sweaters were oversize and we seem to be back there again but it’s not my thing either. Love the way you just dive in and cut to the way you want, brilliant. I made a sweater and it was far too big(user error on my knitting machine) so as I made it I knew I could undo my sleeve seam and serge it to size. Love it now. Love your videos, thank you ❤
Makes me sorry I work in a senior community where the heat is at full blast! I'll never be able to wear any winter clothes there. But the ideas are still inspiring 😊
Never thought of this great idea. How nice to know this. I never knew I could fix the sweaters. I have one I love and Im getting ready to see how it comes out. Thank so much for sharing what you know.
Thank you for teaching how to make nice ends from serger. You are making me go through my donate bag that lives in my closet. Thank you? I'm trying to purge, not add. Love your videos.
35:19 can you move your needle to the right? My machine will do that so I still have the edge of the presser foot in the same place but the stitching is closer to the waist band. Do the sweaters need to be wool to do needle felting? Totally unique! Totally cute! So creative! Well done!
I think they DO need to be wool. And notice the striped sweater was a "tighter" knit so cutting it didn't unravel it. Also, wool will "catch" on itself to prevent unraveling. Don't know about any other fiber. . .. A finer knit IS easier to upcycle than a bulkier knit. . . (unless wool).
Hi! This video inspired two ideas for me. The first is for myself. I plan to use this method to cover up a hole that I will mend in a favorite sweater of my own -thank you! I don't know if you check older posted videos, so I’m also posting here an idea that may (or may not) be helpful for you and your “barbie” dress, where the dying was imperfect. Here’s what I'm doing to rescue a coat. I brushed against a painting at an art center. of course, it was oil paint. I use this for riding my electric bicycle from fall to winter, love its removable quilted lining and its ability to repel rain. My idea is to use iron-on cricut vinyl (in my case, light-reflective for extra safety when bicycling). I cut some retro flowers by hand, but I'm hoping to take a class soon to learn to use (and to make use of) a cricut machine. I did a few test flowers, and they really look pretty good! Much better than smeared paint streaks, anyway. I don't know much about cricut materials, but maybe you could find a matching or a range of tonal matches that you could layer in a pleasing way to cover dye streaks while keeping the "barbie" spirit? Just an idea….. thank you, Catherine!
Wondering if rhe "wiggle " will come to life once you wash it... Honest question from someone who is not brave to cut and treat knit as a fabric as you do. You are so brave and creative!
Great projects! I love them both. I understand why you serge the sleeves to the body with the sleeve on top. But this seam goes horizontal on the sleeve and vertical on the body. Since knits are much stretchier in the horizontal direction than in the vertical and the presser foot adds some stretch to the upper layer while the feed dogs make the differential gathering on the lower layer I always put the body on top of the sleeve and just feel with my fingertips that everything is flat.
They are both so cute, love them. This vid is 2 weeks late. I had a big red sweater that I thrifted a long time ago and tried to make it smaller but failed. The shoulder seam was to low just like yours was but I didn't know how to fix it. I sent it back to the thrift store.
I love both recreations. Fingers crossed that the needle felting stays when the pink sweater is laundered. I will be interested in hearing how you make out with it.
I pulled out some sweaters a few weeks ago, that I just loved to wear back in the 80's, huge! And who do I turn to for inspiration? Your calm instruction gives me confidence to cut!
I love both these sweaters. Great inspiration! The one thing I look for in knits if I want to take them apart is that chain stitch. If the garmet has that along the seams then generally you can take it apart without the pieces unraveling because each piece is knit individually and then sewn together. If you see a regular seam - as you did here - it means the garmet is made from a large piece of knit fabric that is cut into pieces and sewn together. If you take the seams apart they can unravel. Just good to know if working with knits. I always wondered how the garmet manufacturers could cut the knit apart for construction without it unraveling on those big machines?!
I have been wanting to knit a cardigan in the round and then steek it but the knitters tutorials always look so involved and scary. I may skip all their drama and channel my inner Catherine and just treat it like fabric! Maybe. 😂
Iron on interfacing? I’d iron strips along the seamlines. That way you would have something to sew together. Probably knit/tricot stretch interfacing would be more comfortable. And you could copy the outfit and make her a new one once it wears out or she outgrows it. My daughter wore every Halloween costume I made her completely out! That bring back memories 😊
Your right! You never know how a store bought sweater is seamed. Some manufacturers treat these knits as fabric. Some are traditional where each piece is knit and all the edges are knit/cast off. And you'll see everything in between. 💖🌞🌵😷
These sweaters are such a good find, the colourways are so good together you'd swear they were from the same line. Both of the end products are fantastic but I think the second one is possibly my favourite of your creations. Just a thought, would you consider buying a needle felting holder. Its a gadget to hold 5/6 needles at once. I find the single needle is fine for detail work but on blocks they felt up much quicker with the holder. I find the repetitive motion tires my arm easily.
I also struggle with making things look random and not all uniform, so I usually try to find a reference image for something similar that I can copy the "randomness" of.
Needle felting isn't something I have tried yet. In fact I have just learned how to use the double needle on my machine. I am 74 and this old dog can learn new tricks still. LOL love both sweaters
Love this video both sweaters are great. But after watching this remember that I had a sweater that I tried to take in. The seams were wavy and almost gave up on it. Hit it with steam and I have my sweater back. Thank you.
So cute, and amazingly logical alterations. Not at all as difficult as I imagined. Catherine, I also love listening to you narrate the process. Your communication style makes the whole process so enjoyable: love your quietly enthusiastic and encouraging perspective. So worth learning to reinvent a garment's design to suit one's taste, remodel size simply for a perfect fit and, even, reuse leftover materials in creative ways that give the new design a uniquely stylish finish.
I enjoy your channel! Just wondering if you've ever had a bad experience with your Frixion markings reappearing in the cold? Their use is questioned in the quilting world. Always looking forward to your next episode!
Hi Catherine I am so glad I watched this video , I have shied away from cutting knits in case they come undone, but after watching this I may not, the felting you did does that ever come undone in the wash? Both sweaters look great X
So thankful I found your channel- your are the best teacher ever! always wonder if I could alter lovely sweaters found in thrift shops but never did buy then until now!! Did the felting needle appliques stay ok during the machine wash? saying Hi from Baja Mexico!
Yes. Both of your sweaters came out very cute. I have very few wool sweaters. We don't often have weather cold enough to wear wool anymore. However, I do wear my wool socks from late fall until Spring. Would needle felting be a good way to mend wool socks? Needle felting might make them too thick in places. I use needle weaving to mend my wool socks.
Catherine, I love your channel overall, but I really wish you’d be more responsible to size inclusion. These sweaters didn’t fit because you bought bigger sizes than you wear. Please please please leave those and only refashion from your own size. I’ve never heard you speak to this issue, and your choices have me very concerned that you don’t seem to see it as a problem. But it is.
Love the striped sweater but couldn’t see the bottom. Would love to see how the bottom turned out. The pink sweater is really cute too. I’ve never done felting before, does felting statin when you wash? I’m learning so much from you. Thank you
AAAAAMAZING work. Now I know what I can do with some knits from my late Mum. The items are too small but you're giving me ideas. Thanks a million. What a talent you are. Bless your creativity 🎉
I'm predicting a run on felting needles-- are they in your amazon store? What a great help for us petite women who want to use more thrifted clothing! Could I ask if you would help create a cardigan out of a solid sweater? Have you done that and I missed it? I should go look... ;)
I think the circles with the green stems look like trees or topiaries. :-) Ooh, and I just found out that one of our biggest thrift stores is having a half off day coming up!
Wow what a transformation on both of them. I thrifted a huge men's sweater a few years ago with the plan to make it my size. After watching your video I think I will give it a go as it is not precious and I have nothing to lose. The needle felting is awesome but I would have to purchase needles to do that. After seeing how you transformed your project I may try to get some of those special needles.
Hey Catherine, could you press the felting from behind to meld it more ? I am afraid it would unravel in the wash. I did felting a long time ago on a polar fleece hoodie and it unraveled. Thanks.
What an adorable up cycle - you look great in the sweaters and the pattern you created on the pink one is delightful! What a great example of what can be done when we let our own creativity have a chance to come out! Cheers !
Love them both! You have been an inspiration to me. I've started altering my sweaters to fit better and... they're fine, definitely room for improvement! Lol. I shall continue😅
