Here we show you how to turn a regular sweater into a vest with wide arm holes. You will need a jumper/sweater for this as well as some cotton rib knit fabric in a matching colour.
Example of basic sweater (fig. 1).
Mark out the lines where to cut the sweater according to your personal preferences (fig. 2).
Cut out following your lines (fig. 3).
Edging
You will need some cotton knit rib fabric. This type of fabric is the type used in sleeve cuffs etc. It is ribbed and stretchy and it comes in a tube. You can buy it by the meter but you do not need much. A quarter of a meter should be enough, with some to spare. The reason for using ribbing rather than regular fabric is that ribbing will pass around the curves easier due to the stretch quality of it. Below are some examples of cotton rib knit fabric (fig. 4).
Mark out and cut 4 cm wide strips from your ribbed fabric. You will need 2 strips for this garment (fig. 5).
Cut the side of the strips so they can be opened flat (fig. 6).
Measure, cut and join the strips until you have the required length of rib knit fabric (fig. 7).
Pin the strip to the RIGHT side of the sweater (right side to right side) all around the edge. Make sure the raw edge of the sweater is lined up with the raw edge of the strip. You may need to stretch around the corners (fig. 8).
Sew around the entire edge with a seam allowance of about 0,5 cm on the edge side (fig. 9).
Once the strip is sewn into place fold it out and wrap it around the raw edge of the sweater fabric onto the back side (fig. 10).
Pin into place (fig. 11).
Sew along the join line of the rib knit edging on the front side. This should catch the edge of the rib knit on the back side. Once sewn you can remove any excess strip fabric from the back by cutting close to the stitch line (fig.12).
Example of finished result (fig. 13).
