Green Dilemma

Somehow I managed to destroy my ultra-warm, 100% wool, green roll-neck jumper. It'd become a shrunken, felted shadow of what it once was. While it was only a $1 op shop find, the make-do-and-mender part of me couldn't bear to throw it out. And it wasn't really op shop material anyway, given the major shrinkage.

So I put off doing anything about it. On cold days, I'd regretfully find it in the back of the wardrobe, and wonder what to do about it. Then I'd quickly put it back in its hiding place.

Then I came across this book in the local library, and resolved to rescue my green friend. While I've always been a bit scared of remodelling anything knitted, this book reassured me that if I'd truly felted the wool, then the fibres would have matted. This meant that I could safely cut into the wool without fear of it unravelling.

I took the scissors and cut off the thick collar and hem, and reshaped the front into a bolero style (inspired by the book's cover). Great idea, but it didn't really work for me - my jumper had simply shrunk too much.

But rather than give up, when I'd already come this far, I picked up the ribbed collar and hem, sewed them around the bolero's raw edges to give it a few more necessary inches on the shoulders and across the front. Then I added a distinctive, locally made, wooden button to finish it off (and hide a join that was in the wrong spot!).

I'm told that the resulting cropped cardigan is in fact called a 'shrug'. Whatever it's called, it's great for fickle Springtime weather. A green dilemma solved.