For those of us that wait until the last moment to crochet sweaters, this christmas sweater hack is for you.
Inspiration and Design
My two inspirations for this sweater hack:
- A gorgeous applique/sweater from Lee Sartori
- Time
Yes, you read that correctly. I started this project two days before Thanksgiving, which gave me exactly two weeks to crochet two christmas sweaters. This of course was added to the list of work crochet and gift crochet… No, I never learn…
We are not discussing the last one as I feel my heart might combust and not with tidings of comfort and joy.
As for the design, simple enough to browse Pinterest and get some ideas on motif placement. Nothing too extravagant. Also,I think I might be getting very comfortable with crocheting sleeves on shirts. Such a fun and easy way to add crochet fun to your wardrobe.
The yarn
As most yarn collectors, I wanted to use stash. I deluded myself into thinking that this year I would use ½ of my stash. I mean if all I make are garments, it should be pretty easy to make a dent in it. Alas, I feel that the Clarisa of the past did me a disservice by not picking coordinating colors. Seriously, I want to have words.
Be that as it may, I did find stash for my two Christmas sweater hacks. My husband chose a berry red from Bernat, which I’ve hand since 2017, and I paired it with a white (Hayfield from Sirdar). Unfortunately, I still have plenty left, not enough to make sleeves again, but certainly enough to crochet other things…
Christmas Sweater Hack 1:
In my opinion this one is the speediest one, well depending how much crochet you add to it.
For this Christmas sweater hack I chose to thrift a beige sweater and crochet some motifs to sew on. Originally I wanted to do the tres reyes magos, but time does not forgive. I
Instead, I chose to crochet a christmas tree and decorate it. Simple and effective. Although, I will say that I wish I had crocheted more trees to place on the sleeves. Project for another year.
Christmas tree pattern: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClS3__zL0t1/
Pascua Pattern:https://youtu.be/mHZivSXuEyM this is the one I ended up using, but I also like this one https://youtu.be/G8V0beVp7oA
For the star I did a magic loop and I crocheted [3sc,ch2] five times. Then, for the second round, I did a sc in each stitch and a sc,ch2,sc in each ch2 space. Simple but effective.
Yarns for this sweater hack
Tree: Bernat Roving and a 5.5mm crochet hook.
Pascua: Drops Saffran (aff link ) – 2.75 (Furls) and 1.75mm hook
Star: Red heart super saver and a 2.75mm crochet hook (Furls)
Second Christmas sweater hack
This one was for my husband.
Materials:
Star wars christmas shirt
Bernat Value Yarn in a red color
Hayfield by Sirdar in White
Aunt Lydias Crochet Thread
Awl
1.75mm and 4mm crochet hook
For this hack I used a technique that I’ve shared before in My Pinafore Thrift Flip and in the terrarium sleeve.
But let’s cover the bare minimum. Use a really tiny hook or an awl to pierce through your fabric and evenly space crochet stitches around it. I spaced my stitches at .5” and did 3sc in each space for #aesthetics .
Because my husband wanted candy cane sleeves I chose to use the linen stitch and it took me an embarrassingly long time to understand why he was saying that the stripes were vertical…
Contex:
The sleeve band measured 7” flat. I picked up sts as stated above in groups of thre. Because the crochet thread is significantly slimmer than a worsted weight yarn, I skipped two sts for the linen st instead of one. I also aimed for 7” of crochet sts measured flat.
As I continued working the sleeve changing color every rnd, I made some decreases to narrow down the sleeve until it measured 5.5 wide. The crochet portion of the sleeve measures 16” in length including the cuff.
To start the cuff I crocheted sc in each ch space, and then completed two rounds of front post, back post double crochet. Simple and effective.
Which Christmas sweater hack would you choose?
Watch me make them:
