7 March 2010 – Embellished Cardi DIY

Posted on | March 7, 2010 | 11 Comments

7 March 2010 – Embellished Cardigan DIY, originally uploaded by academichic.

Sources:

Grey Cardigan – H &M, embellished by me
Purple Tank – Gap
Denim Skirt – Gap
Boots – Banana Republic, via ebay

Endnotes:

I’ve had this grey cardigan for years. For a while it was a staple in my wardrobe (making almost as frequent appearances as my beige cardi does now) but eventually, I just stopped wearing it much. I got bored with it, but I couldn’t bring myself to toss it in the donation pile. When E. decided to do a cardi-embellishing project, this seemed the perfect item to breath new life in to.

Despite the fact that E’s sewing and crafting abilities are far superior, I took on a slightly more difficulty DIY…but, trust me, if I can pull it off, so can you.

To make these little flowers you will need:

Scrap Fabric (I used a purple jersey)
Thread in to match your fabric
Scissors
A Needle
A few pins

Cut your fabric into 1-1 1/2 inch wide strips, 4-6 inches long (I used a variety of sizes). Fold the fabric strip in half and pin it to keep it folded.

Then do a running-stitch across the bottom (where the folded ends meet).

Pull the thread on one end to gather the fabric together. Use your fingers to adjust the gathering and shape the fabric into flowers.

You can either make a few stitches to keep the fabric in this shape, or tack the flowers directly to the cardigan, shaping a bit as you go. I played around with the placement of the flowers for a while, but eventually settled on a keeping them on one side of the neck line. I still have some fabric left over, so I can always add a few more flowers later.

I know have the DIY embellishment bug and I’m excited to go through my drawers looking for tired pieces just begging for a few ruffles or a corsage of purple jersey!

7 March 2010 – Embellished Cardigan DIY, originally uploaded by academichic.

Category: Beltless, Color Combinations, Independent Study (DIY), Our Best Flatware, Skirting the Issue, Weekend Wear
Tags: cardigan DIY > DIY > embellished cardi

Comments

11 Responses to “7 March 2010 – Embellished Cardi DIY”

J.
March 7th, 2010 @ 4:58 pm

That sounds super simple. Plus, your gray cardi looks great! I just need to expand my cardigan collection, though. I’m so shy about doing that.
Jane Winkler
March 7th, 2010 @ 5:38 pm

Beautiful job! I’m inspired to cut up a couple of turtlenecks now…
Julia
March 7th, 2010 @ 9:43 pm

beautiful! I definitely want to try this.
Petra
March 8th, 2010 @ 12:19 pm

I love your outfit!

What a great little DIY – and amazing how you made this adaption of E.’s outfit (both of you are waring denim pencil skirts, boots, a simple shirt and a cardi) your own.
Kelly
March 8th, 2010 @ 12:43 pm

Too stinkin’ awesome!
Clare
March 8th, 2010 @ 6:35 pm

Such and AWESOME idea! I’ve gotta try it.
angie~*
March 9th, 2010 @ 3:04 am

ooohh i’m loving this!! the purple and grey look awesome together!!!!
All Women Stalker
March 9th, 2010 @ 1:40 pm

Nifty! And the color is great with the gray cardi :)
Academichic || HYW Spotlight « Hug You Wear
March 9th, 2010 @ 11:35 pm

[...] the women at Academichic began a Fashion 101 series on cardigans, already featuring a couple of embellished & applique DIYs, playing with pattern, and a post on layering [...]
Sarah
March 10th, 2010 @ 12:52 pm

I love your DIY. I’ve been meaning to go through my closet to see if I have some items that need a little something-something.
Heidi
March 25th, 2010 @ 5:39 pm

i have the perfect cardigan i would love to embellish in this same way. thanks for the super simple tutorial! i am not a sewer by any means, but i am so excited to give this a try!