sweater skirt

I realize that it is almost time to put away my winter clothing, but before I do I have to first mention that this winter I discovered the sweater skirt.  I bought a second-hand sweater skirt similar to #5 pictured above.  I think I paid $16 dollars for it at the Wear House in downtown Portsmouth.  I wear it with fleece tights and my clog boots.  It is the most comfortable outfit I have. I want to wear it everyday.  I’m tempted to try to make a sweater skirt from second hand sweaters. I don’t like wearing anything that looks too crafty.  I do appreciate the maternity skirt(#3) made by Handmade Pretties on Etsy.  I’m too hippy to wear something like this but it would look great on a girl with a dancer’s body.  The green skirt (#1)  is a hand knit project from the Winter 2010 Interweave Knits magazine.  You could probably get a copy from your local library.  The persimmon skirt (#2) is by Anthropologie.  The pleated oatmeal sweater dress (#4) is by Tibi. Love + Love. xo

FELTED SWEATER BLANKET

Someone emailed me recently and asked me to explain how I made the felted sweater blanket I have posted on my projects page.  I found some old pictures on my laptop and put this post together.

Felted Wool Sweater Wreath

The post I wrote about this wreath was the most popular post of all time on my blog (before I deleted the whole blog and started fresh).

I still get emails about it occasionally.  I figured it was worth posting again with a few words about how to make it.

Here is a close-up shot.

Create a collection of second-hand wool sweaters in various colors.  100% wool sweaters work best, but anything over 90% will pretty much work.  I tend to grab sweaters throughout the year when I’m shopping at thrift stores.  Wash the sweaters with soap and hot water so they felt up tight.  Cut a circle template out of paper.  I used the opening of a coffee cup as a guide.  Pin the paper circle to the sweaters and cut circles out, over and over again, until you have enough to fill a wire hanger.  You’ll need to untwist the hanger and shape it into a circle with your hands.  When you are done cutting out the circles lay them out on a table and start sorting them in a way that is pleasing to the eye.  Then lace all the circles onto the hanger.  This is the easiest part of the process and takes very little time.  Twist the hanger back closed and hang. You might want to bend the hook back a little with a tool so the wreath hangs flat against the wall.    The whole process is easy but time consuming. In the end you’ll have a colorful, modern, handmade wreath.