When a Sweater is Accidentally Shrunk

 I have been doing laundry successfully for a long time, and never have I shrunk anything, until this sweater. I loved this pink sweater from Boden (the color was called “milkshake pink”), and has worn it for two winters before things went wrong. It was a wool, viscose, polyester, cashmere blend, and I know I had washed it before, and the tag inside said it could go in the washing machine on cold, which I did. I immediately knew something was wrong with it (note: all the other sweaters in the load were fine), and an internet search revealed I could possibly fix it as long as it wasn’t to the “felted” stage yet. It was there. I decided that it was going to need to be repurposed and put it on a closet shelf for later. 

Fast forward a couple years, and I decided I needed a new pair of mittens, and that this sweater would make the perfect lining. I used Green Pepper pattern #508, and used a Malden Windblock fleece for the outer layer (the pattern doesn’t call for lining, but I cut out the lining out in a small and the outer fabric in a medium so they would fit together). 

The pattern was great - very straightforward and well laid out. The trickiest part was that I wanted the pink to show as a cuff, and sewing it down in a smaller (and rather bulky) circle took some patience. Making this pattern without a lining would definitely be an easy project that wouldn’t take very long. Even with adding the lining, this project was only about an hour start to finish. 

I would definitely make this pattern again, and I’m so excited to have new warm mittens that are repurposed from the sweater I ruined in the wash!