Refashion: an awful tent-sized cardigan to a warm winter dress

Hey everyone,
So I've been on a crazy sewing spree during the last week or so. I still have a few days of procrastination freedom before I need to get back to working on my MA thesis, but I've been putting that procrastination time to a good use.

It's been crazy cold here in Finland during the last few days, so I made myself a warm sweater from the fabric I bought from Mood Fabrics when we visited New York City in May. I didn't even remember I had that one, but it was lucky I did because it's so soft and warm - perfect for winter weather!

Well, why stop there? I remembered I had bought this absolutely hideous sweater/cardigan from a thrift store like two years ago, and I had never worn it.

But why buy a sweater that looks like that?

For this reason:

1) Made in Europe (Austria)
2) 100% wool
3) Price tag: 5 euros

And since there was so much of the sweater, I'd bought it with just the material in mind. The wool knit is very thick and warm and it has a nice stretch. Also, wool knit fabric tends to be expensive, so had I bought this kind of wool from a fabric store, it would have cost me a lot more than this raggedy cardigan.

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I stood staring at the monstrosity covering about half of our king-sized bed for about two hours.

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Then I got to work.

I ripped the pockets off. They left an indentation and some dust behind (picture on the left), but luckily a lint roller and steaming the area with an iron resolved the issue, and afterwards you couldn't tell where the pockets had been unless you looked very closely (on the right).

I also removed the green collar.

I pinned and sewed the front starting from below the buttons.

Once I had sewn the front shut, I decided that the original front with the buttons would become the back. I then lowered the neckline at the new front side and hemmed it. After that I did some measuring and then took in the sides. I decided to leave the sleeves wide at the wrists.

I ripped open the original hem, as the dress wasn't long enough.

It still wasn't long enough, so I took the strips I cut off the sides and made them into a long band which I then attached to the hem.

I liked the pockets, so lastly I decided the pocket placement and sewed the pockets back on.

And done!

From a tent to something quite wearable:

So nice and warm. ♥

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So, what do you think of this refashion? :)

Love,
Satu / Sew Scoundrel