Creepy Craft: Making A Halloween Cardigan.
For my first Patreon post I wanted to look back at one of my favourite crafting projects; the vintage inspired Halloween cardigan I made for my 40th birthday trip to York back in October 2022.
This vest is still one of my favourite things in my wardrobe and it was so much fun to make. I absolutely love 90s Halloween and autumn themed jumpers, but the prices they go for are pretty steep and, since I love to craft, making my own version was clearly the way to go.
Unfortunately I don’t knit, so I had to come up with a different way of creating one. However, as some of the examples I looked at had lots of appliqué on them, I decided to make my one out of felt as it’s nice and easy to work with and I was confident I could create lots of detail with it.
I started by looking for a base garment and, as I was on a tight budget, I decided to thrift one. I ended up finding a £4 beige, sleeveless cardigan from a local charity shop and although it wasn’t initially the colour I had wanted, it turned out to be the perfect base colour to work with. I then raided my stash for lots of different off cuts of colourful felt that’d work for an autumnal palette. I did end up having to buy some extra orange felt (from my local fabric shop) and eventually some wool too (from the Pound shop) but I still kept the total project cost under £10 which I was thrilled about!
The little appliqués for the cardigan were made individually and then attached to the base later on. It was easier to make them separately so if I didn't like a design I could just remake it without ruining the whole garment. I did end up changing my mind about the placement a fair few times so having pieces I could move about really helped.
After adding on all the pieces I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still missing, so I decided as a final touch that the buttons needed changing, so I swapped them out for some vintage ones from my stash. After looking at some other jumpers on Pinterest, I also added a blanket stitch around the edge to give it that 90s jumper vibe. I hadn’t done this stitch before so I had to practise on some scrap a few times before I was confident enough to try it on my cardigan. I did ok with it but I probably should have started somewhere at the back of the cardigan as my first few stitches weren’t the best and are a bit visible. Oh well…
The final cardigan came out so well and was very adorable. I spent a fair few evenings on the piece and even added a little pumpkin detail to the back of the neck. Hours wise, I maybe spent 12 in total but I was having a lot of fun!
As you might have guessed, I didn’t stop there! I in fact made a second jumper for my partner Tom! This time I found a black sleeveless jumper base, again in a charity shop for under £5, and after learning A LOT doing the first one, I decided to keep the design for this one a little simpler. This time around I ended up being able to complete the whole project in just one afternoon. I did end up tweaking it a bit later on to fill in a little more of the blank space and tie the designs in a bit more, but it didn't take long to do and was worth it for the final look.
My 40th birthday in York was magical. We stayed in a beautiful flat (witch themed with a cauldron table) and as it was the middle of October, everywhere in the city was decorated for Halloween, so my outfit worked a treat! I paired the cardigan with some me-made, lightweight cotton, palazzo trousers in a lovely rich orange plaid. The weather was so nice I didn't need a coat so I could really show the cardigan off. The bag I accessorised with is actually a wicker cauldron from the TKMax Halloween kitchen section. It was designed as a table decoration but I sewed a pouch type bag into it to use as a lining and turned it into a roomy handbag!
We spent 2 days seeing the sites, enjoying the autumn decorations, eating nice food, looking for ghosts, shopping for Halloween themed jumpers (I found 2) and just enjoying the season. If you are a big Halloween/autumn person like me I highly recommend a visit and I’m hoping to go back again soon! 👻🎃🦇
Sarah
Xx
