This DIY is an optical illusion of sorts. Of course some DIYs are done with some sort of purpose other than creating something aesthetically pleasing… but not this one. This is nothing more than a strange idea that popped into my head that just HAD to be made. I fully understand if you don’t see the point, but I’ll show you how I did it anyways.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED
- Two identical sweatshirts (I chose one in Medium as the base and one in XL for the extra arm length)
- Scissors
- Sewing machine
- Pins
1
Firstly you’re going to want to take your XL sweater and chop the arms off. I chose to follow the underarm seam all the way up to the neck hole.
2
Next, line up your sleeves and cut off the excess. My sleeve takes up almost the entire side, leaving a bit of space at the top near the armpit as well as at the ribbing at the bottom. Make sure that when you’re lining it up the sleeve is pointing downwards (the direction an armhole would normally go).
3
Just to make sure nothing moves around when you’re attaching all the layers later, sew a quick stitch closing the arm you just cut off.
4
On the body sweater you’ll need to open up the side seam. If your side does not have an actual seam, you’ll need to determine where that seam would be. I was lucky enough to have a crease mark to follow on my sweater. You’ll want to cut up to the armpit hole leaving about 1.5/2 inches still in tact.
5
Next you’ll be be pinning your extra sleeve onto your body sweater. Turn the sweater inside out, then open the front flap exposing the correct side. Place the sleeve where you would like it and begin pinning it to the bottom layer only. Make sure the new sleeve is poking out a significant amount.
6
Once you’ve pinned the entire sleeve onto the bottom later, fold the top layer over the new sleeve recreating your original side seam. One by one, remove the pins you just placed, then repin, this time attaching all three pieces. The last step was just to ensure that nothing moves around and that the placement of the sleeve will not change.
7
This is what it should look like once it is entirely pinned. Your side seams should be lined up with the new sleeve piece sticking out between them. You can now sew all three layers together leaving enough seam allowance to ensure all the layers will be attached.
8
Once all the layers are attached, you can cut away the excess fabric on the inside to reduce bulk.
1-8 (AGAIN)
Repeat the steps on the other arm and you’re done!
There you have it. Your very functional, practical, super useful tie front sweater. I’m sure you’re wondering how you lived life without one before, but no need to worry about that now. Just go on and enjoy life with your new favorite sweater.
Until next week, happy DIYing!!
