How to make a simple sweater vest

Here is the simple tutorial I promised for those interested in making a sweater vest.  There may be other instructions available online.  This is simply how I do it and there really is no one right way to sew - sewing is just a means to an end and I certainly am among the rule breakers.

First off find a good sweater.  Wool works great for this and it is easy to find shrunken wool sweaters at thrift stores.  Bonus properties of wool include excellent insulation for dampness because it repels moisture,  it is anti-bacterial so it does not need to be washed every wear, and very durable.  I have refashioned cotton and silk sweaters before and the success has varied.  For that reason I suggest starting with wool, even if you live in a warm climate just use a lighter weight wool.  I strongly suggest avoiding acrylics for several reasons, but that would run me a few paragraphs.

Here are my before sweaters:

Please note that I did not change the neckline of any of them.  Look for sweaters that are not gaping because that would look awkward on a child - you can re-do the neckline but that is just an extra step.

Once you've got your sweater washed (I wash on gentle or hand wash then allow to dry on a rack) you are ready to cut into it.  You will need an existing garment for a guide.  Simply lay it on top of your sweater to be refashioned as shown below (the white stuff on the sweater is just a tube of toothpaste Henry got into - it has nothing to do with refashioning):

From here I can plan how to proceed.  If the length is good, as it was for William's striped sweater I leave it alone.  If the neckline is good, leave that alone also.  In that case you have a very simple process of just cutting off the arms and finishing the arm holes.  But as you can see from the above photo I would need to shorten the sweater.  

I use steam disappearing chalk to mark my cutting lines (but sometimes I don't even mark).  Keep in mind about seam allowances before cutting and keep any ribbing intact because that is what you will use to finish the armholes.  Also one rule I never break is 90 degree angle at the shoulder seams (at least for the length of 1" across) and 90 degree angle at the underarm.   Other than that your armhole shape may vary a bit depending on the individual or desired design.

Here I am serging the bottom edge.  If you don't have a serger you can zig-zag on your machine just being very careful not to stretch it out.   Knits can stretch easily even with a serger so make use of your differential feed, or you can just let the knit bunch behind like I did below.  

Next you'll be ready to mark and iron the hem.  Iron it before you sew and take a scrap piece of your knit to figure out what stitch length and speed will look best.  Again if you find your knit stretching as you top stitch just put your finger behind the foot to help control that.  Or you could put a piece of tissue paper or paper towel on the bottom to help stabilize, tear it off then and press again.  Keep in mind it always looks better to use a press cloth (piece of cotton on top of the garment) for your final pressing.

Now on to the arm holes.  Please note I did not use ribbing on William's striped sweater (see last photo) because it was so felted that it acted more like a woven than a knit.  For his I just made a simple facing and did not even finish the edge because the felting was so tight.

The others I finished with ribbing. This technique of self made ribbing can be used to finish the neckline and hem as well.  It is easiest to use the existing ribbing cut from the bottom but the ribbing on this particular sweater was too narrow so I'm cutting my own.  

Ribbing is the knit, purl pattern (or stripes as my kids would call it) that pulls a garment closer in usually at the wrist, neckline and hem.

When cutting the ribbing keep in mind it will be stretch to a point that will narrow it - does that make sense?  Try it yourself and see how stretching it long makes it narrow.  For this reason add extra width.  Also it will be folded so double the desired width and add your seam allowance.   Looks like I did a little over 2 1/2 " below.

The strips will vary in length depending on the knit you are using.  Very stretchy knits don't need to be very long.  But you want it to be slightly less than the circumference of your armhole - remember you are drawing in the armhole.  If you used the same length it could be flipped in for a facing or flipped out for a futurist looking sweater vest, kind of like the Jetsons.

Now sew the strip into a circle.  I just used the serger because it was quick but here you can use your sewing machine and it will not need finishing because it is not going to be an exposed seam.

Now you are going to fold it and half and press it with a crisp edge.  

With raw edges together sew it around the armhole.  Use pins!  That will help with even distribution.  Be sure to keep the ribbing seam line at the under arm.  And again careful not to overly stretch as you sew and if you don't have a serger sew first then finish with a zig-zag.

Hope this was of help and please feel free to leave questions or email me.  Also keep in mind the tone here is to be consistent with our family record and as if I were speaking to my eager to learn children or grandchildren.

And I almost forgot - don't throw out the arms!  Use them as leg warmers just finishing the edges (or not) like you did the vest.