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If you’ve ever wanted to copy and paste a favorite item from your wardrobe, let me show you how I did exactly that with my favorite ready-to-wear cardigan.
Even if the clothing item you want to recreate isn’t a cardigan, you’ll see the steps I followed to make something that’s even better than the original.
Watch the video to see what I did (including a BIG fabric mistake).
I’m on a journey to create an 80% handmade wardrobe, and to do that I need to sew things that I actually know I’ll love to wear.
So I came up with this method of reimagining the things I already wear, but made to my exact tastes. I’ll show you how.
Copying My Hot Pink Cardigan
I started by looking through my closet and seeing if there’s anything I want to replace with something handmade.
I pulled out this hot pink cardigan.
I don’t usually wear hot pink so I’m really not sure why I bought this sweater last year, but to my own surprise I actually ended up wearing it all the time. It’s from H&M, and I really do try to avoid buying fast fashion.
I decided that what I like about it is:
- Cotton fabric. I really like cotton sweaters because they’re easy to wear even with nothing underneath, they aren’t itchy, and they’re not super warm. It’s nice for transitional times of year.
- It’s chunky, which gives it a nice structured shape.
- The cropped length looks good with jeans, easy to layer, works with a skirt.
- The v-neck looks good with necklaces.
- It’s a bright color. I wear a lot of neutrals, so I liked having a statement sweater like this.
There are also things I wasn’t crazy about. I thought the pink color was a little too cool for my liking, a little too Barbie, and it doesn’t go with everything.
So I started to think, how could I sew something that wouldn’t be an exact replica, but would take my favorite things about this cardigan and turn them into something even better?
After all, I’m trying to get to eventually having an 80% handmade wardrobe. So why not take what I already love to wear and riff on it?
I knew I already had the perfect pattern to use—the Lisa cardigan pattern—and it’s actually a totally free pattern this fall if you sign up for my Snippets newsletter.
I absolutely love this pattern, and have wanted to make it ever since it came out. I knew it would look good in a fleece or a French terry, but I wanted it to look like a sweater, so I decided to look for a sweater knit.
My first stop was the fabric store to try to find a sweater knit I liked. I decided to look for something in cherry red, one of my favorite colors and one that would go much better with everything in my closet.
But I couldn’t find anything that really had the look and texture of the pink sweater. I did find a beautiful wool sweater knit that I fell in love with. It didn’t have the structure I originally wanted, but the color was so beautiful, I went for it.
Then, disaster struck. And it was completely my own fault.
Watch the video to see what happened, but I made a total rookie mistake.
In the past, I’ve often used a method called a “London Shrink” for wool fabrics. Essentially, you take a wool fabric and you put it in the dryer with a damp towel and tumble dry it for a while just to remove a little bit of shrink.
However, what totally slipped my mind is that you should only do this with tightly WOVEN wool fabrics, and never with knits. Wool knits are really delicate and should never go in the dryer.
It came out totally felted. It was not only way smaller, but the texture was more like boiled wool and not at all stretchy.
I was super disappointed, but I decided to go back to the drawing board. And you know what? I’m actually glad this happened.
What I realized is that I’d been so excited about the color of this fabric that I’d totally ignored two of the things that I mentioned that I loved about the original:
- The cotton fabric.
- The chunky ribbed knit.
So, I started looking around online and I found this chunky cotton ribbed sweater knit that comes in a bunch of colors, including a bright cherry red! It looked like exactly what I wanted.
The only problem was that the Lisa pattern has a facing along the neckline, and it also has cuffs. I worried that this thick fabric would be too bulky for those areas.
But then I saw that this same shop had matching ribbing! Ribbing is a specific fabric that’s made for areas like this on a sweater. I actually have a whole video on rib knits (including ribbing), so check that video out here.
My next conundrum was working with a chunky sweater knit, and making sure the stitches don’t unravel. I wasn’t sure if sewing this sweater on the serger would be enough reinforcement to keep that from happening. The bigger the stitches, the more you have to worry about fraying.
I cut a few swatches and test sewed some seams, using both the serger and my sewing machine. I found that the serger did a good job of keeping any fraying in check, but I had to make sure the seam allowances were wide enough to catch everything, and the edges were aligned well as I sewed. The last thing I wanted was holes in my seams.
Then I was ready to sew!
I used a rotary cutter to cut out the pattern, which is only a few pieces. This is definitely the easiest way to cut a bulky knit like this.
Sewing this together was a breeze, and I finished in just a few hours. But one thing I definitely liked about the original was the cropped length. So I made sure that when it came time to hem, I compared my new sweater against the old one to get the same look.
I also liked how the original had buttons in a matching color, so I used some red buttons to match the rest of the cardigan.
I love the way this cardigan came out, and I think it looks great either layered over a dress, worn on its own with jeans, or paired with a skirt and flats.
The red color really does go with so much of what I already have in my wardrobe too. Red is just one of those colors that you can use to create some really fun and unexpected pairings.
Tip: Pay Attention to What You Wear
What I love most is that I learned the importance of really paying attention to what you like to wear. Originally, I went with that wool fabric just because I liked it, and I ignored some of the elements I enjoyed most about the original.
But fate stepped in and I had to start all over. Choosing something closer to what I originally wanted turned out to be the best thing. So if you’re trying to recreate something from your wardrobe that you love, don’t just think about what you like about the original item.
Really try to figure out the best way to incorporate those elements, and what you’re willing to compromise on and what you’re not.
And if you love this cardigan as much as I do, you can get the pattern for free right now through the end of fall! Just follow the link below to sign up for our free newsletter, and we’ll send you a new free pattern every season.
Have you ever tried to duplicate one of your favorite ready-to-wear garments? How did it turn out? Comment and let me know!
