Recycling a sweater into a 'pelt' ; no animal was harmed in the process

 (re-post)

Since it is almost impossible to pass up a lovely sweater at a garage sale or thrift store (especially cashmere) I have a bit of a collection of them.  Usually (especially the cashmere) they have moth holes or worn spots which is why they are for sale and this pleases me because I want to cut them up and this makes it easier to justify. 

I wondered if I could turn an entire sweater into a 'pelt' - a flat piece of material.  I thought it would resemble a pelt but since no live animal would be involved then it would be a 'pelt'; after all it did initially start out as the covering on a sheep or goat. 
I chose the above sweater from my stash and began to cut; first the side seams and sleeve seams, then the curved  shoulder seams . 

Gradually the sweater  began to lose its sweater shape and lie more flat.

I thought I might have to cut away the neckband but cutting the shoulder seams apart opened that area and the neckline flattened.

Here is the 'pelt'.

Where to take it from here?  Two things have come to mind so far.

Seeing it on the bed makes me think of turning it into a light, warm blanket;  I would fill in the 'blanks' with knitting or crocheting or pieces of other sweaters - likely all three.  Sort of like a jigsaw puzzle blanket.  I think I would cut into the ribbed former waistline and insert some triangles here to ease the gather. 

The other idea is to measure from top to bottom and cuff to cuff and see if those dimensions would make sense to translate into a simple jacket, again filling in the 'blanks', using multi media pieces to complete the jigsaw. 

A word about the process - which is usually how I work:  this was not done in one session.  I chose the sweater and then left it on the table for a few hours while I went about doing other things, giving it several looks and many pats until I felt it was the one I wanted to use for the 'pelt'.  Then I cut the side seams and underarm  sleeve seams.  Left it again on the table while I went out and about on errands.  Came home and cut into  the top sleeve seams and finally the shoulders.  I may or may not cut the slits in the waistband before putting it on the WIP basket.  It may now sit for a few or several days or it may suddenly be picked up and worked upon before I brush my teeth tomorrow morning. 

Posted on September 03, 2008 at 02:46 AM | Permalink

Since it is almost impossible to pass up a lovely sweater at a garage sale or thrift store (especially cashmere) I have a bit of a collection of them.  Usually (especially the cashmere) they have moth holes or worn spots which is why they are for sale and this pleases me because I want to cut them up and this makes it easier to justify. 

I wondered if I could turn an entire sweater into a 'pelt' - a flat piece of material.  I thought it would resemble a pelt but since no live animal would be involved then it would be a 'pelt'; after all it did initially start out as the covering on a sheep or goat. 
I chose the above sweater from my stash and began to cut; first the side seams and sleeve seams, then the curved  shoulder seams . 

Gradually the sweater  began to lose its sweater shape and lie more flat.

I thought I might have to cut away the neckband but cutting the shoulder seams apart opened that area and the neckline flattened.

Here is the 'pelt'.

Where to take it from here?  Two things have come to mind so far.

Seeing it on the bed makes me think of turning it into a light, warm blanket;  I would fill in the 'blanks' with knitting or crocheting or pieces of other sweaters - likely all three.  Sort of like a jigsaw puzzle blanket.  I think I would cut into the ribbed former waistline and insert some triangles here to ease the gather. 

The other idea is to measure from top to bottom and cuff to cuff and see if those dimensions would make sense to translate into a simple jacket, again filling in the 'blanks', using multi media pieces to complete the jigsaw. 

A word about the process - which is usually how I work:  this was not done in one session.  I chose the sweater and then left it on the table for a few hours while I went about doing other things, giving it several looks and many pats until I felt it was the one I wanted to use for the 'pelt'.  Then I cut the side seams and underarm  sleeve seams.  Left it again on the table while I went out and about on errands.  Came home and cut into  the top sleeve seams and finally the shoulders.  I may or may not cut the slits in the waistband before putting it on the WIP basket.  It may now sit for a few or several days or it may suddenly be picked up and worked upon before I brush my teeth tomorrow morning.