Embellished Sweatshirts

Pacific Northwest Needle Arts Guild
Wearable Art Study Group (Evening)

Embellished Sweatshirts with Candy Cox Blann
June 29, 2001
...Cutting and piecing a sweatshirt and turning it into
a wonderful piece of wearable art...
CHALLENGE: Finish Your Sweatshirt for the September Meeting (9/28/01)!

Supply List

Sewing Machine & basic sewing supplies (snips, threads, seam ripper, needles, etc.)
Idea for a design you might want to try (Freeform, Pieced, Sew & Slash, etc.)
1 Sweatshirt (clean and laundered) Tunic style works best... but a banded one will work too!

$13.98 Hanes 7.9 oz, Printpro all season fleece crew open/tunic bottom from Barb's T-shirt Shop
SweatShirtExpresse has some great colors like periwinkle, mustard, poppy etc. Check out the pigment dyed boxy cut one. Heidi was told when she called their toll free number that it does not have a band on the bottom
$19.99 two color blocked crew from Eddie Bauer - no band!
AMI has a raglan tunic by Champion
GI Joe Sports in Lynnwood on Aurora & 196th (there is also one in Issaquah & Federal Way ... next to Costco)
Candy found her tunic style sweatshirt at an Outlet Mall in Centralia at Vanity Fair

Fabric Stabilizer (Sulky^® Totally Stable, Sulky^® Stitch and tear... or any brand of your choosing)

Muslin - to piece our fabrics onto before applying to sweatshirt. Candy assures us that it is much more stable and prevents overstretching fronts!
Fabric to embellish and piece onto sweatshirt (cottons, rayons, ultra suede, etc.)
Candy recomments sewing stay tape/twill around the neckline if you plan on cutting the ribbing off.

Decorative Threads, Fibers, Buttons, etc.<
Tracing/pattern paper to draw your front for the muslin foundation pieces
22" (56 cm) separating sport zipper or other closure
Embellishment for zipper pull

Examples from Candy's Studio

Cheetah Sweatshirt Jacket by Candy Cox Blann Closure: Button Loops Neckline: Removed original ribbing and applied two rows of bias binding

Zebra Sweatshirt Jacket by Candy Cox Blann Closure: Separating zipper Neckline: Original ribbing, flipped under at center front to make lower for wearing comfort Candy blurred the harsh piecing boundaries with her machine's "grass stitch", using a 2-color rayon twist. Other embellishment techniques: trapunto, stencilling, applique.

Example from Virginia's Studio

Jacket Made from a Sweatshirt Virginia added a button placket and a pieced collar

Example from Joanne's Studio

Design & Construction Tips

Resources - " Sweatshirts with Style " and " More Sweatshirts with Style " by Mary Mulari
Plan the design layout - pieced panels, collar/neckline, cuffs, hem/bottom band, type of closure (button placket with buttonholes, piped on-edge buttonholes , prairie point button covers , or button loops, separating zipper, ties, etc.). Your neckline and center front designs might interact.

Example: With the separating zipper, the neckline on Candy's Zebra Jacket would have been too high as is. She flipped the sides in to create a v-neckline, then topstitched in place close to the fold and trimmed away the excess.

Plan the order of construction or wing it as you go along - You may need to change the order of the steps that follow. Think about your opportunities to enclose raw edges (or display them as part of your design -- you might like to have a bit of the fleecy side showing). Decide whether you want any facings. Look for opportunities to reduce bulk or build up body or texture. Depending on your choice of closure and panel design, decide whether to slash your center front before or after securing panels.
Slash sides and underarms so that your sweatshirt can lie flat. Serge raw edges.
Trace rough outline of design areas on pattern paper. Add 1" (2.5 cm) all around. Cut a piece of muslin to pattern (choose thin but stable muslin, because it will stay with the garment). Piece your design onto the muslin.
Stabilize center front - This is optional for some designs, but is beneficial if you plan to match patterns at center front. On inside of sweatshirt, along center front from neckline to hem, apply a 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch (32 - 38 mm) wide strip of lightweight fusible interfacing (such as Easy-Knit). Stitch through interfacing from hem to neck edge, 1/4" (6 mm) on either side of center front.
Stabilize neck edge - This is highly recommended if you plan to remove the ribbing and desire to maintain the same size neckline. Before removing ribbing, on inside of sweatshirt, stitch 1/4" (6 mm) twill tape around the neckline, just towards the body of the sweatshirt from the ribbing seam (on a typical sweatshirt this is along a row of topstitching). Do not actually remove the ribbing until you are ready to work on the neckline.
For panels, turn under raw edges and top stitch to secure, or sew & flip as for foundation piecing. Depending on your neckline & closure, it may be possible to enclose raw sweatshirt edges at center front at the same time you secure the panels in place, or enclose raw neck edges. Stitch in the ditch (decorative or not) in the interior of your panels as needed to prevent sagging.
Slash center front (between rows of stitching if you stabilized as above). Serge raw edges if they won't be enclosed.
Install your closure. Sporty separating zippers have a big pull tab, which is great for gluing a button, decoration or hanging tassels or charms.
If you are removing the neckline ribbing, you can finish the neck edge with at least one row of bias binding. You could create a lettuce edge with the original ribbing then re-install it. You could feature a trim, rickrack or lace extending over the jacket from the binding.
For cuffs, consider slashing the sweatshirt sleeve and finishing with bias binding to create a placket. Apply overlapping cuff as for a shirt -- this allows you to show off functional buttons. Other options include elastic casings, gathering the sweatshirt sleeve onto a smaller band, or making a simple sleeve band the same circumference as the sweatshirt sleeve.
Finish hem as desired, with a band, mitered or curved edging around a shirttail hem, insert lace or rickrack with a facing, etc.

Amy's Sweatshirt
Started at this meeting...finished 12/31/01

Seminole piecing adapted from " Simply Seminole " by Dorothy Hanisko. The leaf print was a birthday gift in 2000 from Amy's friend Annette, of Cedar River Quilters. The other fabrics were chosen to go with it. Amy also made a matching purse for our February 2002 meeting. Click here for Amy's construction method.

Front facing; bias binding over neck seam. Label reads "ACRG 2001".

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