Recently, I turned an old sweater and thrifted pants into this tank top and high waisted shorts. Hopefully it will give you a little inspiration for your next thrifting trip (or maybe even a run down of your own closet). This is also technically a 2-in-1 project, so you guys are in luck! Keep reading to see how I made it.
The sweater I had was from Wet Seal – I bought it for a holiday party years ago, during my Sophomore year of college. I actually haven’t worn it since, so I decided to give it a new life after all this time.
I started off by cutting right across the sweater, above the chest area.
I folded over the edge and pinned it down. This can be pretty tricky with sweater material, but definitely doable with multiple smaller pins.
I sewed a straight stitch along the edge.
I folded it over again – about an inch this time – and pinned it down. This is the point where I tried it on to make sure I wasn’t cutting too much (or too little) off.
Taking the same thread I used earlier, I hand sewed small stitches in equal intervals along the edge of the fold.
I also hand sewed the front of the sweater, right at the top. This helped tighten up the width of the sweater (so it’ll stay up!) but also create the little hole, which I thought was a nice touch. Obviously depending on what kind of sweater you have, you may or may not have to do this.
This was the last step to finish up the top. You can cut and hem the bottom if you wish, if it’s too long for your liking. I decided to keep mine just the way it was!
For the pants – I tried them on, marked where I wanted the shorts to hit, tacked on a few more inches then cut off the legs – while it was hanging up. I personally find it easier to cut things like pants while they’re hanging up.
I turned the pants-now-shorts inside out, and pinned and sewed along the side. I did this on both sides. This would make them a little smaller and closer to my size, but still kept them big enough to be gathered and worn high on my waist.
If you decide to this, make sure you don’t sew too far in, otherwise they’ll be too tight and defeat the purpose of being high waisted. It really never hurts to try things on before sewing 🙂
I folded up the bottom edges and ironed them to keep them straight and in place. Then, I pinned them down.
I hand sewed in equal intervals along the fold/edge, just like I did with the sweater tank top earlier. A simple “x” stitch is enough to do the trick.
I ironed them again just for a little extra security.
The finished outfit! I paired it with my favorite brown waist belt, along with brown heels (also one of my favorites).
I’ll consider the sweater to be free since I had it on hand already. That, with the thrifted pair of $4 pants, makes this outfit…well, $4. (Minus the belt and heels at least!)
Hope everyone has a lovely weekend! New York’s having a gorgeous sunny fall day right now. It’s hard to believe Thanksgiving is right around the corner for all of us in the U.S…I’m actually going to be working my local
Barneys for Black Friday (& that Saturday). It gets SO hectic around that time – to the point where some stores will hire people just for that weekend. I’m pretty sure I’ll
start the shift around midnight. Luckily, I’m a night owl!
xo.
