Last winter—
Sidebar: Anytime I start a sentence with “last [timeframe]” it reminds me of my younger sister Brittny who always used to start every story with “Last morning…” when she was little. It didn’t matter if she was talking about something that happened a month ago, a year ago, or fifteen minutes ago, she always began whatever she wanted to tell us with “last morning.”
“Last morning, when I was at Pizza Hut…”
“Last morning at school…”
“Last morning, when I was little…”
It’s been nearly 30 years, but I still smile thinking of her fuzzy blonde hair and those big green eyes imparting the utmost seriousness as she prepared to tell us her Most Important Things Ever, starting with “last morning.”
Okay, back to my wide-eyed story…
Last winter (smiling), in preparation for our upcoming move, G and I went through a massive house raid, letting go of things we no longer wanted, to cut down on items we’d need to pack and pay to store. I started with my closet. I had this striped cable knit sweater that I never wore and knew I needed to get rid of – but I couldn’t let go of it! For years, every time it landed in the garage sale pile I’d see its cheerful, colorful stripes and pull it back out, thinking maybe I’ll wear it this winter. The problem was – any time I pulled it on I was reminded that it was too short and the neck felt like it was swallowing my face.
Those stripes, though!
They were so darn cute that I just couldn’t part with them! So, instead of selling all that chunky cable knit cheer for $1 at a garage sale (or giving it up for free), I decided to take a pair of scissors and immortalize the cuteness by turning it into a decoration for our front door.
The victim.
Sweater Monogram Wreath Supplies: (contains affiliate link)
Cable knit sweater
Cardboard craft letter
Scissors
Needle & thread
First I chopped off the sleeves and wrapped them around the legs of my “R.”
Next, I trimmed off any excess sweater material so the back wouldn’t be too bulky, and then hand-stitched the cut edges together in the back using a needle and thread. It wasn’t the kind of sewing that’d win me a blue ribbon at the 4H fair, but the good news is it gets the job done and no one is going to see it.
Ta-da!
Here’s that chunky, face-swallowing cable knit sweater turned monogram wreath hanging on the front door of our old house last winter. I always loved how our house looked in wintertime, dusted with snow, and this colorful front door decor added the perfect pop of color.
I love repurposing items and think it’s fun to leave a little hint of what the item used to be, so I decided to keep the ribbed cuffs of the sweater sleeves exposed on the monogram wreath:
This entire project was repurposed (the large cardboard “R” was part of previous years’ holiday decorations) so it cost me $0 and less than 30 minutes of my time. And the best part? I got to keep those cute stripes and turn them into something I can enjoy everyday.
Got a sweater you can’t get rid of? Give it a try!
Like this idea? Here are a few more my repurposed sweater projects (click on the picture to visit the post):
Love this! I had a similar striped sweater that I donated and now I totally wish I’d kept it. I’
Thank you, Heather!