Gone Crazy with Felted Sweaters! (Image-heavy) - Now w/ ice scraper tutorial

[crazycatladymel]

I spent the latter part of summer looking for wool sweaters at thrift stores, thanks to a post here about tote bags, and wanted to share my results so far. It's not taking the place of knitting, but it did kind of save my life when it comes to Christmas gifts!

Tote Bags





Mittens, Ice Scraper Mitts
(Ice Scraper Tutorial is now on my blog, here.)


Cat & Dog Toys, Dog Sweater



Christmas Stockings

[kattghoti]

Holy cow!  You did go crazy!  My thrift stores are worthless when it comes to wool sweaters.  The ones I can find are like $13... No WAY at a thrift store!

Everything looks amazing. 

[babygoinplaces]

Those are FABULOUS!  i can't decide if I like the stockings or the ice scraper mits the best.  Can you tell me how you did the ice scraper mittens?

[crazycatladymel]

The most I paid was $6 for the grey & white diamond/check sweater. It was HUGE, and I got a big totebag and a stocking out of it, plus 3 sets of pewter clasps. It helps living in Michigan, I guess, near wealthier subdivisions (not mine). Lots of cold weather, lots of cast-offs. Still, not anything cheap like I hear of in other places, with sweaters going for $1 or anything like that.

The best part about this is how MUCH you can do with 1 sweater. I've also made fingerless mitts and a pop can holder for my dad's wheelchair out of the sleeves (no pics). The "mice" are pretty obviously just triangles, and they were all scraps just sewn up. One of the ice scraper mitts is a sleeve, and the other mitt was the mock turtleneck and neckline I cut out of a sweater (to make a bag). I used the sleeves from that sweater to make mittens, and there are still 2 pretty big rectangles left. The tiny bits of scrap went to stuff the dog bones. And so on.

kattghoti: Sorry your stores aren't helpful. Someone suggested that I look at discount stores like TJ Maxx & Marshalls, but I can't see paying full price when I'm going to destroy the sweater on purpose. Maybe after Christmas your stores will pick up? (All the Christmas gifts donated away.)

fairgreenlady: I can write up a tutorial. I took a pic in the middle of the process. I'll post it tomorrow, okay?

[tofuttibreak]

I love your bags! I've been searching for a good sweater to felt, but I've had no luck. Great job on all of these. How are the felted sweaters to sew? Are they fidgety?

[tejer]

You really got lucky with the sweaters you found. Especially the stockings have some beautiful patterns. You did a lovely job with all of the items. Yeah recycling!

[robosnail]

This may just be the best idea ever.  Way to go!

[crazycatladymel]

I love your bags! I've been searching for a good sweater to felt, but I've had no luck. Great job on all of these. How are the felted sweaters to sew? Are they fidgety?

It all depends on the sweater. Some felt SO thickly that it's tough to sew, but most have been a breeze - nice firm, even fabric.

The only one that really gave me grief was one that felted unevenly. So some parts were thick and firm, and other parts were a little flimsy. That's been the trouble with the patterned sweaters. On many of them I had to cut off the sleeves (have to anyway for the bags) and refelt those.

[crazycatladymel]

Oh, before I head off to bed, here are some pattern links:

Tote Bag (also in AlterKnits book)
Mittens (I need to revise my pattern a little, but this one worked pretty well for me)
Another Mitten Pattern - I didn't use this one, because I was in a hurry. Their pics look great, though.
Stockings: You can trace an old stocking. I think I got a template from Martha Stewart because I didn't know where our stockings were and wasn't about to buy one just for a pattern. The key was to cut a template out of clear vinyl so I could see where the pattern on the sweater worked the best. (Should I confess that the far left one is a Dale of Norway sweater that I got for $4? No one I know would wear it, and now it's become a stocking, and 2 ice scraper mitts, and I still have the whole back and lots of scraps left.)
Mice: Free-hand. I used the shoulder seams for tails, added a little catnip and some cut-up wool scraps and sewed around.
Dog Sweater: I used the pattern from Vogue Weekend Knitting: Felting. I just skipped their directions about knitting a big rectangle and felting it, and skipped straight to cutting the pattern out of the felted sweater.
Bones: Also free-hand. Stuffed with cut-up wool scraps.
Ice Scraper Mitt: Mostly, I let the sleeve do the talking. But I took notes and pictures and will try to have something to share tomorrow.

[erincatherine]

those ice scraper mitts are the coolest thing ever.  What a great idea! there is nothing worse than going outside to scrape the ice/snow/grosness off your car in the morning and have your whole arm/sleeve get all wet and cold. I, too, would love a tute.