Simple Vest from Repurposed Sweater

Easy to Sew!

Day Dreams 2012

An easy to sew pattern & tutorial for those who are

beginners at sewing. This vest was made using the

same sweater the fingerless gloves were made from

(see previous post on fingerless gloves).

Materials: Sweater to repurpose, pins, tailor’s

chalk, hem gauge, embellishments.

Step 1: Lay the vest out and mark the

center line. Carefully cut down the

center of the vest.

Step 2: Lay open vest. If the sweater

you are working with has a rolled collar,

this should be trimmed off beginning at

the bottom of the opening in the vest.

*see picture*

* Collar before trimming. Trim close to edge, then

prep for hemming all the way around. * If you have

trim from front left over, save this. It will make your

belt in the back of the vest.

Vest Page 1 Day Dreams 2012

Vest Page 2 Day Dreams 2012

Step 3: Hem. Once collar is trimmed off,

measure and pin a 1/4” from one end of vest

to the other (all the way around). Using your

stretch stitch, sew close to edge of hem

around.

Step 4: Arm holes. Measure and pin a 1/4”

hem from the side seam around. Using

stretch stitch, sew close to edge of hem. * Be

careful to not stretch the fabric; ease it in

around corners to prevent bulking, pinching

#3—measure and pin to prepare

Step 5: Pockets. From sleeves cut the side

seam open and lay fabric out flat. Mark center

of piece to cut in half. Mark sides straight us-

ing ruler and tailor chalk or rotary cutter. With

sleeve finished edge at the top of pocket, sew a

1/8” hem on both sides and bottom. Pin in

place on front of vest (both sides). Using

stretch stitch sew to vest on 3 sides, staying on

stitching of hem.

Step 6: Backstrap: Using scrap left from

sleeve or trimming front, cut a strip long

enough to reach seam to seam (sides) and ap-

proximately 2-3” wide. Fold in half, sew closed

but leave ends open. Turn tube right side out.

Fold each end in about 1/8”. Mark placement

on back of vest (use tape measure to place ac-

curately) with seam placed in center (see pic-

ture) toward vest. Stitch to vest at both ends

(be sure to catch in where you folded the strap

ends).

* Be sure to leave

ends open after

sewing. Seam

should be in cen-

ter when sewn to

Vest Page 3 Day Dreams 2012

Step 7: Embellish! Here is the fun part.

Time for some creativity. You will note mine

is rather plain looking. Why not dress it up

with oversized colorful buttons in front and

back? Maybe different sizes in a set of 3 in

front, and matching or mismatched buttons in

back?

Steam press and your new vest is ready to

show off!

I hope you enjoy repurposing a sweater

or other apparel items. It can be fun so

long as you let your imagination run

wild!

Word of advice: Don’t say what you can’t

do, say what can be done with the recon-

struction.

Wishing you success and inspiration,

Sher

The End.