I got so many lovely baby gifts from friends that I've hardly had to buy Eli anything yet, but I could't find a nice cosy jumper for him. So, (after having shrunk a few of my own lambswool or cashmere sweaters in my time) I decided to make a 'cut and sew' jumper for Eli. It's really easy... here's how to do it:
Find yourself an old sweater that you don't mind cutting up!
Measure your baby or even easier- draw round one of their other sweaters, remember to add on about 1 cm all the way round for seam allowance.
you need a front, a back, and two arms which are folded along the top in this picture.
Knit fabric is quite stretchy so don't worry too much about being really neat!
Sew the sides and arms on with an over stitch (or sewing machine if you have one)- starting with the two sides, and then the shoulders on the diagonal line and then the length of the arm.
make sure the stitching is secure and you start and finish off your sewing with overstitches so it does;t pull out when you start to stretch the jumper.
if you use an overly felted jumper the fabric won't fray, so you can leave the bottom edge and the neck as a raw edge.
Turn it inside out- I like the plain colour but you can also sew something on the front! your babies name, or something he or she likes. I've decided to appliqué an apple on the front
Cut the apple shape out of another colour of fabric, and sew round the outside edge.
For the leaves i used little bits of felt, again make sure its sewn on really securely.
voila!
Wear and kick your legs and wave your arms!!
