Good-bye, winter blues,

hello spring-time blue!

     It seems like we're just on the verge of spring here.  One day it's cold and grey, the next we're tantalized by a blue sky and soft breezes.  I am tired of the same old sweaters all the time, and I think the kids are too!  So I decided to make something a little bit more "spring-ey" for Ailidh. 

 

       

            I started with an old sweater of mine.  This sweater has always made me feel a bit dumpy.  Which, after 3 children, I need no help with.  So, instead of leaving it in the back of my closet forever, I decided it would be the perfect new spring item for my daughter.

(Actually, it doesn't look so bad on Cordelia, but that is because 

she's about 3 sizes smaller than my post-three-babies body!) There is also a real belt, 

but at the time of this photo it was being used as a leash for somebody's teddy bear...

    A couple cuts and a half an hour later (when I really should have been starting dinner for my family...), and I had a cute little sweater vest.

 How I did it:

I folded the vest in half and cut off about 4" from the side.

      Next I pinned up the new sides, leaving about 5" for a new arm hole, and about 6" at the bottom for the slits.  A quick seam, and then I overcasted the armholes, and made a tiny rolled hem along the slits at the bottom, and it was pretty much finished. 

         I still had the belt, so I cut it in 4 equal pieces and attached them about 3" back from the side seams, directly under the arms, and tied little bows.  That also helped give it a little more shape.
Then, because it kept slipping off her shoulders, I also added a little hook and eye in the front.

All finished!