Creepy Crafting: Skeleton Jumper

I've been looking for a cute skeleton jumper for a while now but I wasn't finding one I really loved so of course I went the DIY route! I had an old faded black jumper that deserved a proper makeover and with the help of a £2 white t-shirt from the charity shop I set about remaking it. 

Starting out: First up I had to remove the embroidery I'd already done and check the damage, which actually turned out to be minimal and would be covered easily by the ribs. The jumper was pretty faded when I originally thrifted it but I loved the fit so it made a great, cheap base for the project.

Measuring: I needed to have a mark for the middle of the jumper to start off with so used my tailors chalk to give me a framework to work with. I then started cutting out the middle bone for the ribcage from the thrifted t-shirt. I kept all the shapes pretty simple to make it all a little easier to do. Once I had the middle piece hand sewn in place I added collarbones before starting on the ribs. I tacked it all in place by hand first so I could make sure it was working. The bones had a slightly rough look with the raw edges of the t-shirt fabric but I liked the effect it created.

Ribcage placement: The ribcage pieces took a bit of moving about to get them how I wanted them and I had to try the jumper on a few times to make sure it was looking right. Once I was happy with how it was all sitting I sewed the bones in place on my machine. 

Adding arms: This wasn't in my original plans but it just felt needed so I went for it. This was the fiddliest part of the project, as sewing the sleeves on my machine was a pain but it adds so much to the final look that I'm glad I did it.

I wear the finished jumper a lot, often with my matching skeleton bag charm, and I'm very happy with the results especially as it was all done for just a few pounds and a couple of hours work.

Stay spooky.

Sarah X