Jacket + Sweater = Cropped Jacket + Dress

A good quality but rather boring plaid jacket is spiced up by being cut under the bust into two pieces. The sleeves are cut at the same line. Trim is sewn around the cut edges. The bottom of the jacket is sewn on to the bottom of the sweater. The sleeve bottoms are opened up and sewn together in a square. Triangles are sewn at the side seams to create a bottom for the handbag. A stiff insert is fit into the bottom of the handbag. Eyelets are made at the top of the handbag seams. Split key rings insert into the eyelets, and the handle attaches to the rings.

Tools and Materials

Jacket
Sweater
2 yards trim
2 eyelets
2 split key rings
Stiff insert for handbag bottom
Handbag handle
Thread, scissors, pins, sewing machine

Cut the jacket, lining and sleeves under the bust, adding ½” seam allowance for the trim, and sew the trim on top. The bottom of the jacket and lining is sewn on to the bottom of the sweater just above the ribbing. Place right sides together and stitch.

The sleeve bottoms are opened up at the seam opposite the buttons, which will be at the top of the handbag. Pull the lining up out of the way, and sew the jacket sleeves together down the sides and across the bottom. Triangles are sewn at the inside bottom of the two side seams to create a flat bottom for the handbag. A stiff insert is fit into the bottom of the handbag. Then sew the lining together around three sides, add the triangles, and push the lining into the handbag. Eyelets are made at the top of the handbag seams according to the package directions. Split key rings insert into the eyelets, and the handle attaches to the rings.

The cropped jacket and handbag were shown in the 2009 Summer Issue of Altered Couture Magazine.

      Jacket and sweater before

   






      

Two Sweater Hoodies for a Little Girl and Her Doll

As a donation to the Tiny Tim School silent auction I knitted two sweaters in a cashmere blend yarn. The patterns came from a book called Knits for Girls and Dolls by Charlene Schurch. Each pattern includes the matching sweater for an 18" doll, in this case Fancy Nancy. The doll's dress was decorated with butterflies, so I used butterfly buttons for the closures and smaller ones on the pockets. The pockets were not part of the pattern. I added them myself, and included a hanky for the girl and her doll.

Here are the directions for the pockets, using the same yarn and needles as used for the sweaters:

For the Girl (4T)                                                
Cast on 3 stitches                                            
K 3
P
K front and back of stitch (KFB), K, KFB (5)
P
KFB, K3, KFB (7)
P
KFB, K5, KFB (9)
P
KFB, K7, KFB (11)
P                                                                  

KFB, K9, KFB (13)

P

KFB, K11, KFB (15)

P (This ends the flap of the pocket)

P a row, K a row for 21 rows, end on wrong

side, bind off.

For the Doll
Cast on 3 stitches
K3
P
KFB, K, KFB (5)
P
KFB, K3, KFB (7)
P
KFB, K5, KFB (9)
P (End of pocket flap)
P a row, K a row for 13 rows, end on wrong side, bind off.

For both sweaters
Weave in tails. Sew flaps down with buttons. Sew to sweater fronts using mattress and shoulder seam stitches.

Another pattern I used from this book for an 18" doll is shown below. I really like the concept of matching clothes for a girl and her doll.

Two-piece Winter Outfit

A coat, vest and sweater are usually layered for winter, but I decided to combine them into one outfit. This was a fairly quick transformation, about two hours. I removed the sleeves from the coat, trying not to get the down all over the house. I was partially successful, and now I have a bag of down for some future project. I cut off the last cylinder of down from each sleeve and replaced them with the lower part of the sweater sleeves. I sewed the sleeves to the vest. I used the body of the sweater for the skirt, adding waistband elastic for the waist. A camisole is used under the top. Now I need to think of some sleeves to add to the coat, from a bulky sweater, perhaps.

The sweater body was made into the skirt, the sleeves were sewn to the down sleeves.

The beaded vest had sleeves from the coat and sweater sewn on.