This is the second blog post in my 2021 Sewing Plans blog series. Click here to see the video where I share my inspiration for each month. My January project spilled into February so my February project was short and sweet. I was bad about taking photos of this project but I did share my progress in my Instagram stories. Check out the FEB highlight.

The inspiration I gathered for this sweater project is all over the board. Some of the looks (above) are just too cool for me. I wouldn’t know how to pull them off. I’m more of a grampa-cardigan-wearing-person. I’ve long admired the conservative-meets-quirky style of LeoRosa. I especially appreciate their color combinations. I decided to try to replicate their Leo cardigan with secondhand sweaters.

I started with a light gray sweater vest from my own closet. I attached the front of my light gray sweater vest to the back of a newly thrifted dark gray sweater. That part of the project happened without incident and was relatively easy. But when it came to adding the pockets I lost confidence.
I fretted for days over what color pockets to add to the sweater. In the end, I feared that I would make the sweater worse with colored pockets and so decided to leave well enough alone. It wasn’t easy to NOT add the pockets but I kept thinking of all those episodes of Top Chef or Project Runway where the chefs/designers put too much on the plate or in the design. Sometimes the restraint is the flex.
Below is my final design modeled by my son Alex. I like it just as it is.

What I learned on this project
- I bought too many options for this project. I should have made more decisions in the thrift store. It would have been less wasteful.
- When I still thought I was going to add pockets I watched how-to videos on Youtube. I found this video on How to sew a Bluff Patch Pocket. Fascinating! Why do people think clothes should be cheap? I’ll never understand it. Clothes-making requires so much talent and skill!
- Trust yourself. Or at least, remember to try. It’s not easy. Designing is like being faced with a constant series of decisions you have to make. And some of them cause tiny heartbreaks.
ONWARD!
xoxo recovergirl