No Sweat Sweater Re-fashion Week: Dog Sweater

I wore the heck out of this sweater. It was a rather inexpensive purchase from the Gap outlet to begin with so I definitely got my money's worth. Unfortunately, I sweated in it one too many times (if you catch my drift). Chopping it up would solve that problem and the problem of Sadie only owning one sweater, of the Christmas variety.....

Let's get started!

If you don't dress your dogs and are shaking your head at me, too bad. We are having rather seasonable temps now but Sadie is often chilled by winter winds. Her Christmas sweater is somewhat ill-fitting and I don't think she's very comfortable in it. Because she can't talk, I can't be sure on that fact. Additionally, I'm sure she doesn't like wearing it out of season. (who would? dog or human!)

I used said Christmas sweater as a guideline for her new threads. It's essentially two rectangles, one of which is angled at the top. I hope your dog model is more cooperative than mine. I wasn't able to get accurate measurements at all. She kept running away once she caught on that my Milkbone bribery = prodding.

The nice thing about using a ready-made sweater for a project is that the edges won't unravel and are all finished. I kept the ribbing at the bottom of this sweater to add a nice finish on Sadie's sweater.

Since dogs come in all sizes, I can't really give you measurements here. You should have two rectangles to start, one larger and one smaller. The corners then get trimmed off the larger one. This will help the sweater angle around your pup's neck.

I used the ribbing from the v-neck on the sweater as the collar for Sadie's sweater. Additionally, the bottom of the stomach panel will come up higher than the bottom of the top panel. You can see that better below.


Put it on your dog, if she's not acting like a diva, and admire your handiwork!

 Now Sadie is more styling than ever!

I hope you make one for your puppy too. It's snowing as I write this so I guess she'll get to use it this season after all. Sometimes she likes wearing it, sometimes not so much. What an enigma.

Happy sewing!

No Sweat Sweater Re-fashion Week: Cable Knit Pillow

Welcome to No Sweat Sweater Re-fashion Week at

Ashley See, Ashley Does!

If you're like me, you probably have a bunch of sweaters that are just one wear away from the Goodwill pile. Let's do something about that, shall we? This series is designed to help you repurpose those sweaters so that you don't have to give them up completely. The fixes are low to no cost and easy to do! Cheap and easy, sign me up!

Let's get started!

I was really sad to cut up this sweater. I love a good cable knit. It was still in good shape but unfortunately, it accidentally met the dryer one too many times and was far too short for my torso.

Sweater covered pillows are everywhere these days. Observe......



The Company Store







Pottery Barn





 They always seem so cozy! While magenta isn't really a color that fits into my home decor in a more prominent room, it does happen to be an accent color in my craft room. I purchased a pillow form for $6.00 (half off!) at Joann's. I wanted a small lumbar pillow to lean against while I sew. It was something like 9"x14". I'm hoping it will help me remember to sit back instead of hunch over when stitching.

Save those sleeves for later, people. You'll see them again!

Shove your pillow form through the opening you left on the top seam.

Don't know how to do a blind (slip) stitch? This is a good picture tutorial.

And........Ta da!

Don't have a sewing machine? Get out your needle and thread and do it by hand. It will take a little longer than the 30 minutes (max) it took me but it's only two seams. Get stitching!

Come back tomorrow for a refashion of the canine persuasion.