Finally, my first REAL refashioning (that is - not mending or maintenance)! I took a knitted item and re-used old items from my wardrobe and sewing box to complete it - and it was a lot of fun (despite my somewhat lukewarm feelings about the result)!
The knitting on the sari-scarf was completed weeks ago, but even after a wash, I found it to be a bit scratchy on my neck, so I tabled it for a bit to brainstorm a solution. The idea came on a sort & purge of my closets a few weeks ago - I have a couple of old fine gauge merino knits that have been hanging around awaiting frogging, and as it happens, the sleeves of one that had already been separated into pieces were about the right size to create a lining for the scarf. They weren’t quite long enough on their own, so I pieced them both together and trimmed them to a rectangular shape.


I had a day off this week for appointments and errands and such and took that opportunity to break out my little sewing machine for the first time in over a year, an event accompanied by a modicum of foul language as I’ve now forgotten how to thread it, wind a bobbin, etc. You would never know I was a budding seamstress as a teenager. One day I’ll show you pictures to prove it - because truly those days are long past and now, this is all I’m capable of! It’s not by coincidence that there aren’t any detail shots of my stitch-wizardry. I used bias tape to seam the lining to the scarf, overlapping the edge for a bit of contrast. I’ve also forgotten how to make neat corners and was too impatient to look it up, so they are far from perfect, but they will suffice. Impatience was always my downfall when it came to sewing, why this is different for me with knitting, I’ve no idea.

The closure is also a re-use - a surprise find in my (grandmother’s) sewing box, added by me a few years ago from a velvet jacket that has long since gone to goodwill. I loved that jacket. It had these lovely frog closures on it, and this one was a spare.
So, the end result of this knitting/refashion? I admit that I fancied it a bit more gypsy-chic and a little less clown-ruff… A little more Tudora and a little less muppet barf. But it is cozy and warm and bright and happy - and doesn’t shed as much due to the lining. It may grow on me. Or I may have to yank that pretty closure for another purpose! I’m very happy with this project in intent & practice (recycled yarn, recycled lining and closure), I’m lukewarm on the end result though.
Pattern: Improvised
Needles: US9
Yarn: Recycled Sari-Silk from the Wool Peddler @ 2 skeins
Construction: Knit a rectangle - picked up stitches and increased rapidly along two edges to create the ruffle.


Now, this next one, I am very happy with!
Coop Cables has remained one of my favorite FOs to date - it was completed in November 2006 - prior to the death of the old blog which means it’s undocumented except for some mediocre pictures. But it saw a ton of wear in it’s first winter - It’s warm, a flattering color and shape, understated and suitable for work wear. The unfortunate result of the regular wear was some extreme and un-flattering pilling of the Baby Alpaca Grande (deliciously soft, terribly pilly!), not to mention a fair amount of stretching in the shoulder seams due to the weight of the sweater. Relegated to the knit shelf, it was when I reviewed those previous knits that I resolved to remedy the situation and make it wear-worthy once more.

With the help of some twill tape, I reinforced the shoulders of the sweater to help it keep it’s shape and give it some more structure, keeping the armhole seams where they belong. Then, I took a shaver to it - I’d been warned against it, but the sweater stone that I tried didn’t seem to do the trick, and in fact made it worse (was I doing something wrong?), so I proceeded with caution and I won’t bore you with the details of what a slow process that was and how many times I had to empty the little lint trap. But it was very worth it.
Hurray! No more fuzzies and one of my wardrobe staples is back in regular rotation (at least for the few weeks before the temperature climbs)! I don’t know if you can see the difference in the cables from the before shots above - they are so much crisper and cleaner now, the pills are all gone, and the shoulder seams actually stay put!


I’d love to hear about some of your favorite FOs and how they have held up over time. What if any maintenance (other than washing) have you had to do to keep them looking lovely?
Tad has also jumped feet first into the refashioning effort - he’s been very into the whole thing and even made his own very detailed re-fashioning post here! And folks, I didn’t help him one bit, he figured it out all on his own. I’m so proud!
In other news, I’ll have a write up soon on the P.S. Mitts (now available through the Sanguine Gryphon!), and Chrysalis II is steadily moving toward completion at the rate of a pattern repeat or two per day - so, my WIP list is steadily shrinking, which is good as new ideas are percolating!
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