The Sweater Transformer

Recognize this?

Hmmm, yeah, we are very much liking our new lightbox. Those are true colors.  In the late-afternoon light, with the flash. Wow.

I'll give you some hints.

Got it?

I started ripping back the unfinished Ribby Cardi made of Mission Falls 1824 wool.  When I got to this point, I thought, Hey!  Hang on just a cotton-pickin' minute!  This is a nice ribbed rectangle. That's a lot of knitting. There must be something I can do with this.  I held it up to my head.  A perfect fit.  I took the end of the knitting yarn, put it on a tapestry needle, and threaded it through the knitting loops.  I cinched it on the top, and then sewed the two edges together in a mattress-stitch seam.  I rolled up the new brim of the new hat.  I made a quick-and-dirty pompom and sewed it on.  Presto-chango, a Dulaan hat done.  It fits me perfectly and snugly, and because of the ribbing, it should fit a wide range of heads.  It's quite nice and warm because of the wide fold-back brim, too. 
I had crazy hopes of using the tops of the sleeves as earflaps. Don't they look perfect for it?  I cut one of them off.  Did you know that knitting does not like to be ripped back in the wrong direction?  I did not know that.  I was trying to get to a point of live knitting loops, while retaining the earflap-shaped bit at the top of the sleeve, but it just wasn't happening.  It was making me crazy and I spent longer fiddling with it than it would have taken me to knit new earflaps for the hat, so I quit that foolishness.  The Yankee in me only goes so far.  Actually, as Jessie will remind us, that is the very essence of Yankeeism:  It's only worth the effort if it's a practical and economical use of the time.  So I might figure out a way to make it work, or I might knit earflaps. I most likely will just throw the hat in the Dulaan box and forget about it.

Now, what can I use those sleeves for, huh?  They would have already been turned into neckwarmers, but for the fact that they are not actual rectangles because of the increases.

Have you got any unfinished, unloved sweaters that could be turned into warm charity items?

Comments

[Isela]

Hey great save on that ribbing! A hat is perfect. Can you felt the sleeves and make little mitts?

[Vicki]

I'm afraid if you felted the sleeves, you'd only have enough fabric for one mitten... Would they be right for a small hot water bottle cover?

[jodi]

The part of the sweater that was supposed to fit around your BODY fit around your HEAD instead? Please tell me you only had the back done, Norma. Because I swear you don't look that much like a bobblehead (or Vanna White) in real life.

[Carole]

NORma, you are brilliant!

[Anne]

Aren't you smart? (We already knew this.) Another warm snuggly head-warmer. Perfect.

[sandy]

Great hat/sweater. I'm impressed! Those sleeves could be a purse. Narrow part = handles. Felted or not.

[Julie]

Very cool idea! I have a sweater sitting in the frog pond right now; I think I'll have to take a look at it and see what I can do with it.

[Roxie]

Brilliant! It makes such good sense to conserve all that knitting energy! If I do it, is it Yankee thrift for someone born in Oregon and never been closer to Maine than Mass.? Would it be Oregon thrift? That just doesn't have the same cachet.

[Roxie]

Brilliant! It makes such good sense to conserve all that knitting energy! If I do it, is it Yankee thrift for someone born in Oregon and never been closer to Maine than Mass.? Would it be Oregon thrift? That just doesn't have the same cachet.

[Cordelia]

I just discovered the joys of ripping back -- er, the wrong way, I mean -- also.
And did you know you can't pick up ribs and knit them the other way, either? It just doesn't work.
Nice hat.

[Carrie]

Cute! Good for you, saving all that good knitting and making good karma at the same time.

[margene]

Fabulous idea for an unloved sweater. My ribby is finished but I really don't wear it as the yarn is crap. Turning it into a charity hat is a perfect thing to do...or maybe I should felt it into a smaller sweater and sent it that way.

[Marcia]

Making hats from unloved sweaters is all well and good (and very Yankee) but your adoring public wants to know how you made the damn LIGHT BOX!!

[kmkat]

Huh. I thought it was just me that couldn't rip from the cast-on. Great save on the hat!

[Jean E.]

Excellent idea!

[somebunnyslove]

Please do not laugh, but this morning knowing that it was -4F (that is 11F with the wind chill factor) today, I took the cheap cashmere raglan cardigan that felted, cut off the sleeves as close to the diagonal seams as possible, and used them as legwarmers under my calf-height boots. The raglan shoulder area covers the tops of my feet just perfectly. Now THAT is what I call being frugal/practical, especially here in New England!
=:8

[claudia]

What an awesome idea!

[scout]

Hummmmm. I have the back of my Ribby Cardi and all of the yarn for that too. Want it?

[Andrea]

Would both sleeves together make a hat?

[Sue]

You are too clever, Norma. A light box and a sweater turned hat, possibly ear warmers, as well! That’s functionality at its best.

[Rachael]

You are so CUTE. And clever.

[Cookie]

You really are good. I agree with Sandy, btw.

How big is your light box? I think I need to build a larger one. :?

[Birdsong]

Very clever! I will be looking at thrift store and yard sale sweaters in a whole new light.

[Lucia]

Clever you! And you're right about Yankee ingenuity. I myself think it's not necessity but laziness that's the mother of invention.

[Kristen]

You're so dang clever!

Pssst, Marcia, do not anger the Norma. Check yesterday's post for a link...

[Wanda]

What a cute idea. I love the reuse of the yarn from the Ribby Cardi as a hat.

[Sue]

A great use of resources, no point in wasting all that effort is there? Hat looks good too.

[Carol]

Wow Norma, it's a Ribby Cappi!

[Kathleen]

omg. earflaps with sleeves. i love you.