Knitted Jumper – Upcycled 3 ways. Part I – Head Band

I have bought a large knitted jumper from a charity shop to cut into and make nice new autumn fashion with 😀 
I am really looking forward to autumn as it gives me a chance to wear snuggly jumpers and boots again. 

Taking this jumper:

I have made a Head Band, a Cowl and a set of Ankle warmers which also double as an ‘fake’ boot socks for people like me which can’t wear thick socks under most boots. 

Today’s instructions will be on the Head Band:

I made a number of these last winter because I can and do enjoy knitting. I never really used mine that much but the one I finished inside with fleece for my sister was used a lot on her trip to Norway. 
I did have to practically force her to take it but I think she was glad she did in the end. 

I wanted a quicker way to create a headband and one which is suitable for people who don’t necessarily know how to knit, or are not confident in their skills. This can be one way to incorporate cable knit with out having to fiddle about with a cable needle. 

Using the jumper above and some gorgeous chocolatey coloured felt I have from a previous project:

I measured round my head and got a length of 22″. I cut a length of fleece which was a bit wider than the bottom ‘cuff’ of the jumper. I wanted the band to not be too loose so I kept to the same measurement as the seam allowance would mean that the band should be roughly the right size. You can always take more in on the seam so make it a little longer if you are unsure.

Pinning the ‘cuff’ to the fleece. I decided to sow the band before cutting as this would give more structure and stop the edge from possibly becoming wavy as it is stretched by the foot on the machine. 

Additionally since the knit is a ribbed cuff knit it can be used either way out. I decided the back was in better condition than the front. 

Place the fabric right side to right side, so that the fabrics you want to be on the outside are sandwiched in the centre, facing one another. 
Pin.

You can just about see the pins, the knit is thick so they had a tendency to get lost!

Sow using a straight stitch along the bottom of the jumper being careful to sow slowly and not pull the knit too much. I find trying to feed the knit into the foot is useful. 
Then sow along the top of the cuff. Here you can use your hands either side of the sowing line to feed the material into the foot to make it more even.

Off the machine it looks like this. The pins are visible from the back much more than from the front. It is very useful if you put them in in the same direction as they are hard to see from the front. 

Cut the excess off close to the seams.

Turn inside out

Steam flat. 
Be careful not to put too much pressure as this squashes the knit and reduces the effect.

Remeasure the band around your head and sow the band closed at the correct length. 

Then model it:

Modification: you can make a slightly less bulky seam by sowing across one end before turning it inside out and then placing the ends ontop of one another rather than right side to right side as for a normal seam.

I hope you enjoy this Tutorial and get a lot of use out of your new head band. 

Check back for parts II and III later 😀

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