Friday 6 January 2012

Cashmere upcycled or An apology to the Mister

Dear the Mister,

I'm so terribly sorry that your M&S cashmere sweater, which you received as a gift ages ago, which has been (mostly) washed according to the manufacturer's instructions and NEVER tumble-dried (much), has shrunk.

Upcycled leg warmers with crochet trim

I'm sorry that you had to give it to me.

I'm really sorry that the arms have shrunk too much for me to wear it and actually, it's also too wide.

I'm very sorry, but there's only ONE solution. 
And that involves scissors and a cunning plan (Mwahhh haaa haaa haaa)... 

And for starters, an idea for a pair of leg warmers.  

First, cut arms off (not yours, the jumper's).

Upcycled leg warmers with crochet trim

Second, try on for size and take in if too wide. I just did a basic and somewhat wobbly seam on my old sewing machine and cut off the unwanted bit.

Upcycled leg warmers with crochet trim

Next, pin the top to create a straight edge.

Sew.

Upcycled leg warmers with crochet trim

I used a blanket stitch as I quite fancied the 'Prairie look'

Upcycled leg warmers with crochet trim

Hmmmmmm. Nice.

But could I do better?
I then had the idea about crocheting a border. So I did a bit of looking on t'internet and found lots and lots and lots of ideas.
I ended up with this, thanks to Cassie of You Go Girl!   

Upcycled legwarmers with crochet trim

Make 3 single crochets (US) between each stitch around.
Make shell stitch pattern, based on repetitions every 6 stitches. I opted for *skip 2 stitches, 5 dcs in next stitch, skip 2 stitches, sc* repeat around, join back to beginning stitch with slip stitch and fasten off etc.

Upcycled legwarmers with crochet trim

Much improved, methinks.

Cashmere leg warmers.
What? You haven't got a pair?
Dahhhlings, they're this season's must!

You know what to do.

And the jumper? 
There are plans afoot.

Have a great weekend, bloggy friends.
Xxx 

35 comments:

  1. They're lovely! And oh no! My husband doesn't have a cashmere jumper that needs a hot wash ;)
    Very jealous.
    Also just seen your last post about the rug. Genius. Once you've got the right pattern, it'll be fantastic :)
    Jane x

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  2. Now scouring the house for an old jumper to recycle, could do with legwarmers for the new Christmas boots, brillian idea, thanks!

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  3. Oh, love, love, love them! Genius upcycle.

    ... *scrambles off chair to rev up washing machine and hunt through own hubby's wardrobe* ...

    Hx

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  4. LOVE THIS! They look soooo pretty, very shabby chiq romantic looking :)
    xo,
    wink

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  5. They are simply Fabulous Darling! :)
    Does mister have any other sweaters you can shrink?

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  6. Gorgeous and you sooo have the legs to carry them off love!
    What a clever girlie you are (how the hell you do this with young kids is beyond me!!!)
    x x x

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  7. Wow - these are fab, i have another case of the wanties again..
    Have a great evening :)
    Mantha xx

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  8. Oh, but they are debonaire!! And I bet they are oh-sooo-soft. I must thrift me a cashmere sweater. Lovely, Annaboo. Thanks for the link, too.

    Cassie @ You Go Girl

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  9. These are fab! I think you could start a new trend....and if a few sweaters have to perish in the process then sacrifices will have to be made!
    Looking forward to seeing what you do with the other part of the sweater too!

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  10. These leg warmers are soooo cute!! And very clever!

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  11. Ooh, fab. My husband has some merino jumpers.... Mwaaa haa haa indeedy!! Have a great weekend. xx

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  12. Dear Mister
    Your missus is mega talented, thank her for sharing her awesome ideas with us all will you?
    Cheers

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  13. Oh my goodness! This is brilliant. I am off to the thrift shop right now to scare up a candidate. Lovelovelove.

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  14. So cute and clever!!! They look great!!!

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  15. Hahaha bloody brilliant and most entertaining!! Love, love, loving them!!!

    Jo x x x

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  16. And the rest of the jumper? A cute little cushion cover perhaps? Nice work... Does he know you've shrunk his jumper or will the penny drop when he sees your new legwarmers?! Ha!

    Xx

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  17. Oh I am so sorry for the shrinkage, but those are some very cute leg warmers!!

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  18. Oh my oh my, I LOVE the legwarmers and decorative edge. What are you going to do with what is left over? Have fun!!
    Anne xx

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  19. Love the crochet trim, it does indeed transform them.

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  20. Crochet just makes everything better. ;P
    S'lovely. Can't wait to see what happens to the rest.

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  21. Sooo clever, and really cosy! Can't wait to see what you're going to do with rest of the jumper!

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  22. They're fab!!! What a clever idea! Looking forward to seeing what you've got planned for the rest of the sweater.....
    Carly
    x

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  23. Oh my goodness... swoon....I LOVE these..bye... *runs up stairs to rifle through hubby's jumper drawer*......:)x

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  24. If only hubby had a cashmere jumper, if only I could crochet, if only I had the legs for the look ... sob!

    Utterly. Marvellous. Idea!

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  25. they look fabulous!! and much quicker than crocheting them yourself (toiling on the 2nd one!) starting to worry that I won't be able to pull my boots up over my non too thin calves with said legwarmers on! ELaine x

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  26. Jealous!!!!!! They look FANTASTIC!! And I love your boots too!!!
    Maria x

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  27. You wickedly clever, crafty gal! I adore them. You will have the most stylish legs around. Love the boots too!!

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  28. Ha Ha! I think you just nailed it with this one. So darn cute!

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  29. Ooooooo fancy! Well that's one posh pair of legwarmers and they look snazzy with your boots too :-) So there'll be jumpers going awol all over the place now will there?

    Now my bloke has nothing I could steal as he won't wear jumpers, big tough Geordie you know wears t-shirts all year round, lol! Although some of them have been known to vanish over the years and turn up as linings my bags if they're a fab colour, shhhhh!

    Hope you're having a fab weekend my lovely :-)
    Lori xxx

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  30. oooo you clever girl they are lush! I did wrist warmers for a friend for Christmas from my non-fitting jumper sleeves and she loves them. I will have to pinch them back because I forgot to photograph them before she got them.
    Nice boots by the way!
    xx

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  31. Uhhhhh Sarah absolutely love these, what a brill idea. I think my hubby needs to start hiding his jumpers :D
    Lol Karen x

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  32. They are so cute. That was a great idea!

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  33. OK - I love this post - made me laugh (not at the finished article you understand!) just the way you tell it! Also scrolled down and love the jam jars, the little Xmas trees, the peg thingys, all of it. Great - will return.

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  34. Love them! Unfortunately no cashmere jumpers to accidently shrink here. Well done - I would never have thought to do this x Kylie

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  35. My Goodness your stuff is so cute
    i mean ''Wow''.
    Ella xoxo
    PS My 4 lil girls.blogspot.com is my mom's blog

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Have a fab day.
Sarah Xx