Turn a Sweater into a Cardigan Jacket: Step-by-Step Tutorial

If you’re looking to update your wardrobe without breaking the bank, consider transforming a sweater into a cardigan jacket. Whether you’ve found an interesting sweater at a thrift store that you’d like to transform or you have an old sweater that needs a refresh, you can easily turn it into a more wearable and versatile cardigan with just a few cuts of scissors and some new seams.

With some basic sewing skills, even beginners can complete this project in less than an hour.

How to Turn a Sweater into a Cardigan Jacket

What You’ll Need:

Patterned sweater
Tape measure
Contrasting fabric
Sharp pair of scissors
Button
Thick hair elastic

Cut Fabric Strips: Start by cutting two strips of fabric that are 2 inches wide and 2 inches longer than the front of your sweater.
Fold and Press Strips: Fold under 1/4 inch on the long side of each strip and press it down. Choose a button and cut a hair elastic in half.
Cut the Sweater: Cut a straight line up the center front of the sweater with sharp scissors. Don’t worry if you end up with jagged edges; you’ll be covering them up later.
Pin on the Strips: With right sides together, pin the unpressed sides of each strip to the raw edge of the center cut you just made.
Add Button Closure and Strips: Determine where you want the button closure on your cardigan, then fold your hair elastic in half and pin it under the fabric strip with the ends facing in. Sew each unpressed side of the fabric strips to the raw edges of the center sweater cut.
Fold and Press Strips Again: Flip the fabric strips over and press 1/4 inch down on the other edge of each fabric strip. Fold and press each end of the fabric strips.
Pin Strips Again: Fold over each fabric strip so that wrong sides of the strip and sweater are facing together and raw edges are hidden now. Pin this in place.
Topstitch the Strips: Topstitch around all four edges of the fabric strip and add the button so that you can button your cardigan closed.