Valentine's Sweater

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'd decided a couple of weeks back that I'd do this refashion...knew it as soon as I saw the sweater at the thrift store. It's been sitting on my Refashion Ideas Pinterest board for months and I am super excited about it :) Here's the pin...does anyone know where this comes from? I'd love to site it, but the  image I pinned is just that; an image that leads me nowhere. Anywho, isn't it just the sweetest thing ever? I actually had thought of doing this refashion on the previous Sweetheart Sweater, but I'm glad I held off. 

Let's begin! I found this "grandpa sweater" at the thrift for half off two weeks back:

Gotta love the jammies :)

It's J. Crew, a cotton and cashmere blend (oober comfy!!!!) and because it was half off it only cost $2.50! That's my kind of deal :)

It did have a couple of very small issues. A bit of pilling on the butt region and a broken button, but it came with the replacement still attached! Really easy fixes: I used a razor to "shave" off the fuzzies and then simply switched out the button.

Now, I could have stopped there and it would have been a nice basic sweater to cozy up in on these winter stormy days, but we're gonna make it a little more than basic. I started by grabbing some stabilizing fabric and gathered a few different options to consider for appliqué.

After choosing the plum colored knit (removed from a cowl neck sweater), I cut out three hearts from scrap paper in graduated sizes. I layered the knit over the stabilizer then cut out those hearts from the fabric and pinned in place on the back of the sweater.

I thought that I would hand stitch the hearts in place, but instead I decided to zigzag them in place with my sewing machine (much faster, but without the advantage of ensuring there won't be pulling). I styled my newly refashioned sweater with a pair of leggings, white athletic socks (yeah, I'm stylish like that) and a side braid (pretty much how I wear my hair daily). Here's how it came out!

You'll have to excuse the bad hair day...and the random upside-down ottomans in the background! I am definitely not detail-oriented today. But at least I put on makeup ;) Oh, and the white socks? Sorry, they didn't make it into the shot!

The perfect kind of cozy sweater for a "snow day" Valentine's Day spent at home <3 Or, for any fall/winter day, for that matter. I look forward to getting to wear this out and about to show you perhaps a "better" way of styling such a cute sweater.

Here's the final before and after shot:

Peace,
Andrea