November 9, 2010

DIY: Ruffle Cardigan


While flipping through the October issue of Elle, I came across a Banana Republic ad featuring an adorable , Anne Hathaway looking girl wearing the cutest ruffled cardigan. And unlike some of the more extravagantly draped gowns and blouses in there that make my heart go pitter-patter, this one looked simple to replicate.
And it was!!


Love all the texture and of course the tone-on-tone gray, a wardrobe staple.

All you need is one plain cardigan sweater ( this one was thrifted for $1) and several strips of fabric, 20 inches or longer. 

Different textured materials such as cotton, lace, satin, tulle, linen and ribbon in a monochromatic palette add lots of interest. Leave unhemmed to achieve a shabby look.

Arrange the strips on the sweater how ever you find pleasing. I used: black zipper, gray/white stripe cotton weave, gray lace, printed cotton voile (Alexander Henry Como leftovers from this dress), gray/white pinstripe, black tulle, and gray satin. Take a pic if you need help remembering the placement - I know I do!

Ruffle your strips either with a gathering foot or baste and gather by hand. Pull out the ruffles to the length your sweater requires.

Pin the first strip in place. This photo shows starting furthest from the opening, but on the other side I started from the opening and liked the results much better.


Sew the ruffle strips on, starting from the bottom of the sweater.
If you start from the sweater opening, be careful not to sew the previous ruffle down by accident.

With all the ruffles sewn on, it should look something like this. Repeat on the other side of sweater.


Here you can see why I started from the opening the second time around. The ruffles on the left side are 4 inches higher than the right side. I started to pick the stitches out but wow! they are really in there tight! Rather than abandon the project in frustration, I chose to emphasize the unevenness by adding some black ribbon rosettes. Hopefully no one will make my same mistake!


Thanks Banana for the inspiration; you can keep the $98 price tag.

17 comments:

Jacinta said...

That looks awesome! Made a plain cardi into something eye catching. I have to do this... one day.... too many other things on my plate right now! :)

www.modelmumma.blogspot.com

Cheryl said...

ummm, talented! :-) wow, that is awesome. love how you just saw something and made it! x

Cassie said...

Fabulous project!!!
You should link to some parties!!
I will send you some link if you want!
=)

Gloria said...

WOW Sabrina, this looks amazing!! You are very talented, thanks for the inspiration, I really need to try to do something like this:)TFS

Sasha Farina said...

good LOrd!! that is gorgeous! you're good with this!

Jenny Hall / Seamingly Smitten said...

Girl you are talented!! Such an up-to-date look! Please add this to my linky party and SHOW IT OFF!
www.seaminglysmitten.blogspot.com
Jenny

Unknown said...

That looks great! I am all for shades of grey.

eye_on_sparrow said...

This looks amazing. Great save with the rosetts. No one would know that it wasn't intentional. I think it gives it even more great style.

anne maskell said...

Very Cute, and it looks fabulous on you! I'm visiting with TRH, hope you visit me too!
http://www.amaskellantics.com/

Citra said...

it turns out just fabulous!
great job Sabrina
i follow you back :)

Nicole - Craft My Soul said...

I actually ripped that Banana Republic cardigan Ad out of my magazine the other day! GREAT GREAT GREAT tutorial! Can't wait to try it! Great blog!

New follower
Nicole
www.craftmysoul.blogspot.com

Fonda @Southern Scraps said...

Awesome cardigan and tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

Sandra Toro said...

beautiful, thanks for sharing!!!!

Sachiko said...

I fell in love with that cardigan when it came out. You did wonderful job with yours!

Meredith said...

love it!

lryates said...

Love this a lot, great idea, I even love the unevenness. However that is not Anne Hathaway.

Helen @ Blue Eyed Beauty Blog said...

I love this cardigan! Super cute and creative!

Helen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog