In an effort to be a little more frugal with my craft projects, I decided to try making something new from something old and unloved. I started with an old sweater of my husband’s that never fit him quite right:

I carefully cut it apart, preserving as much of the fabric as I could. Then, using a pattern from the 02-2006 Ottobre Woman’s Magazine, I crafted it into this little jacket:

Ottobre Woman Magazine: 02-2006-18 (Knit Jacket)

The instructions were easy to follow, primarily because there were so few pieces involved and this was fairly straightforward sewing. The only challenge to the project was the fabric itself. I was worried about how nasty the seams would get if I didn’t finish them off carefully. Since I don’t have a serger for this kind of finishing, I used my regular sewing machine as best I could. I sewed the pieces together using a narrow zig-zag stitch and finished them with one of my machine’s overlock stitches. I used a jersey ball point needle for most of the sewing and reduced the presser foot pressure to 15.

There are so many things to like about this jacket. I like the close fit, the graceful curve to the front edges and the sweet ribbon threaded along the waistline. It’s a delightfully easy project that can be sewn in an afternoon.

The only thing I do not like was how easily the ribbon twists and is crimped by the tiny holes through which it passes through the body of the sweater. I thought part of this problem might be solved by creating larger holes for the ribbon.

First, I tried using my machine to sew reinforced eyelets, but they looked horrible.

I then tried attaching a metal eyelet to one of the enlarged holes, but the fabric began to unravel and the stupid metal eyelet just fell out.

As an experienced knitter, I should have known better! Silly me! I darned the mistake and reverted to the original method of threading the ribbon through the sweater using a large-eyed needle.

When I finished hemming the jacket, the curved edges curled up horribly. Since the fabric contained wool, I knew I could shape it the way I wanted by wetting the fabric and laying it out flat to dry (in knitter’s parlance, this is called blocking). It worked like a charm!