This tutorial is nothing new, it's all over the interwebs. But the ones I ran across were all a bit vague. So I decided to write a detailed tutorial on how I made mine.

I have been afraid to try this project, because I don't know how to knit, and don't understand how sweaters are held together. I was afraid that if I tried to do this, my sweater would unravel within minutes of making my first cut.

Despite my fears, I tried it myself on a sweater that I thrifted a few months ago. I loved this project, and loved the way it turned out. So here's my tutorial on how to turn a boxy pullover into a cardigan.

**What you need**

* A pullover sweater.
* Scissors.
* Hooks and eyes.
* Fabric for pockets. Four pieces 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares.
* Four pieces 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" squares of fuseable interfacing  for pockets. Optional.
* Embroidery floss.
* Buttons. 
* Needle, thread, pins...

First, fold your sweater in half to determine the front middle. Make a small cut on the middle, unfold, and continue cutting up the front. Cut as straight as possible.

Next, in order to prevent the cut edges from curling up, and minimize fraying as much as possible, I decided to do a blanket stitch up both the cut edges. Click here for a blanket stitch tutorial. I started the stitch right below the neck band, and ended it right above the band near the waist. They are woven differently, and I was worried that my stitches wouldn't be as consistent as I would have liked them to be.

After stitching both cut edges, I went back to stitch up the neck band, and waist band.

You can see, I ended up having a problem maintaining consistency, due to the sweater itself. On one side of the cut, the knit was flat and straight, giving me a guideline of sorts to keep my stitches even. On the other side of the cut, the knit was wavy, making it harder to keep my stitching even.

Then I stitched a hook and eye closure right at the top of the sweater on the neck. I stitched another closure about 4" down from that.

I stitched on some buttons for decorative purposes.

Then I added my pockets. Feel free to add some fuseable interfacing onto one of the pocket squares before sewing, if you want the stiffness, but it isn't required. Now take two of your fabric squares, face the right sides together, pin, and stitch around 3 sides about 1/4" in.



Clip the corners to reduce bulk.

Turn right side out, fold, and press the open edges in, and topstitch them closed.

Now stitch them on wherever, and however you choose.

Voila! You now have a new cardigan.

Of course this is how I made mine. There are so many different options to consider when making your own cardigan. The only rule to follow is, keep your cut from fraying.

You can stitch some binding onto your cut edges. Or, if you like the look of an unfinished edge, set your machine on it's longest stitch length, and zig-zag near the cut. You can even do a blanket stitch in different ways. Depending on the thickness of the sweater, the distance of your stitches, and how tight you pull the stitches you will get varied results. For instance, on a thinner sweater, if you place your stitches close together, and pull a bit tighter, you will get a pretty "lettuce" style edge on it.

When stitching on knit fabrics, a zig-zag stitch will allow your material to stretch how it would naturally stretch.

Instead of hooks and eyes, you can stitch on a little ribbon to hold it shut, add a zipper, or if you are feeling really ambitious, add some functioning buttons.

You can get really creative with your pockets too. Cut out fun shapes. Felt some pockets, or just leave the pockets out all together.

I thought of all sorts of things I could do with this. Appliques, fabric broaches, even a tie around the waist.

If your sweater is a bit boxy like mine was, take it in using the "pinch and pin" technique. After your cardigan is finished, turn it inside out, put it on, pinch the excess fabric, and pin to mark where you want to take it in. Make sure it's not too tight, and you can move comfortably. Set your machine on it's longest stitch length, and zig-zag stitch where you pinned. I started at the bottom of the sweater, and continued up through the armpit, and into the sleeves.

P.S. That bright pink is in fact, the actual color of the sweater. I really hate the sun setting so early.