Fibre archeology : revamp ; pullover to cardigan

Rummage sale.  An Italian-made large pullover in a fine wool.  No label to tell if part of that wool is angora - I hope not :  rabbit fur bothers my nose.

It gets hand washed with a mild soap and vinegar and then hung to dry to stretch it out lengthwise.

A pullover with a turtleneck,  however much cowled,  is too hot for Victoria's moderate climate.

A cardigan was planned .....

Two zippers that have been added after the original manufacture are removed from the bottom side seams and the seams re-sewn. Interesting to wonder if the adjustment did ease the fit as desired and if the vents looked as jaunty as zippers suggest.

With cardigan in mind the pullover was folded in half along the front and back lines and simply cut along the front one.

It has been my experience that machine knit sweaters do not become all frantic and unravel on cut edges.  This one didn't.  I could hem the edges but I like the unfettered look and hang of a primitive edge.

It feels comfortable.  I have not worn it long enough to find out if it is going to be bunny-bothersome.

The former cowl has turned into a shawl-like collar and I will likely leave it as such;  there had been a thought or two to cut it up to the neckline in half-inch or less slices and then tie these together in staggered joins.  Hmmm.  Will see.  Maybe experiment with this idea on a piece of cloth and compare the effect before doing on the actual sweater.

Comments

[Fran Dale]

The sweater looks smashing now! Is it felted somewhat so that it won't ravel??? Cheers Fran in Calgary

[karen]

Hello Fran
No it is not felted at all. This is the surprising thing about cutting into some (many!) machine made sweaters - they don't come undone as one would expect. The edge isn't finished, of course, so I wouldn't go pulling and tugging on those stitches but so far I have not had a problem ; I consider the odd errant stitch to be part of the effect. Cutting as much as possible on the fold line keeps all in order as well. Thanks for your comment!