DIY Lace Cardigan Tutorial

I'm just full of tutorials this week! This one is free, however - except for the lace. That's an original pattern, so you're going to have to buy it if you want it. This tutorial works with any sort of lace, though, so have fun with it!

The story behind this one: I bought two crew-neck shirts at Kohl's back in the early fall. I thought they would be flattering. Unfortunately, I'm tall, and that means all of my limbs are longer than average, including my arms. So I ended up having to roll up the sleeves on these shirts and they looked dumb. They were also too plain. The yellow one looked like an ensign's uniform from Star Trek circa 1965 and the oatmeal one was just boring.

When I designed this lace, I first used it to trim the yellow shirt. (Tutorial and lace pattern available here.) A few days ago, I decided I needed a new cardigan and since I couldn't find the tutorial I wanted, I made my own! It was quick and easy. Except for the hand-sewing (which is optional, if you're a whiz at machine-sewing...which I am not).

You will need:

-One crew-neck shirt

-Two 16" lengths of lace with a sturdy edge

-Sharp scissors

-Corresponding thread

-Sewing machine

-Needle/pins

Take your crew-neck shirt and cut it up the center of the front. It's okay if your line is a little wonky or the edges aren't completely straight.

Set your sewing machine to the longest stitch size possible (mine went up to 4). Sew a seam with a 1/2 inch allowance (or more) up both front edges. (My picture colors are a bit off - the first few I took during the day and the rest were taken in the evening - sorry!)

Pull on the top thread and gather the edge of one side to the length of one lace piece. Even out the gathers and pin the lace on top of the gathers evenly. The lace edge should lie flat over the gathered edge.