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How to Embellish a Basic Sweater with Two Stitches

comments (19) January 28th, 2016     

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erika_kern Erika Kern, contributor
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A spray of lazy daisies turns a bargain sweater into a great boutique find.
Before: This sweater has a great shape and I love the color, but it lacks personality.  
After: With some yarn, two stitches, and a little time, a $20 bargain becomes a whimsical sweater worthy of the finest boutique.
A spray of lazy daisies turns a bargain sweater into a great boutique find.

A spray of lazy daisies turns a bargain sweater into a great boutique find.

Photo: Erika Kern
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Embellish a ready-to-wear sweater with lazy daisys

I often find myself longing for beautiful boutique sweaters, but their $100, $200, and sometimes $300 price tags stop me in my tracks. Here's an easy way to turn a basic sweater into a fabulous find. I bought a new sweater with a wide, scooped neck, but you can use this technique on any sweater you find. It's a great way to spruce up a thrift find or something you already have in your closet. It's also a wonderful gift idea for that fashionable friend on your list.

Supplies you'll need:

  • A sweater
  • Yarn - Make sure your yarn is the same material as your sweater. If you're stitching on wool, use wool; on cotton, use cotton, and so forth. My sweater is a washable wool blend, so I used washable wool yarn.
  • Large tapestry needle

I don't use a hoop when working on knitwear because it stretches out the fabric far too much. I use my fingers to add any tension I may need while stitching. You can use any stitch you wish when working on knits, but I liked the idea of a bunch of lazy daisies densely packed on one shoulder and then scattering out down the front and back of the sweater.

How to make a lazy daisy with a French knot center

The first petal of a lazy daisy is just a detached chain stitch. Start your stitch as you would a chain stitch, bringing your yarn up through the sweater and down into the same hole, making a loop.

lazy daisy with french knot   Bring your needle up away from your first stitches, through the loop.
lazy daisy with french knot   Finish your stitch by locking the stitch down on the other side of the loop.
lazy daisy with french knot   Begin your next petal alongside your first. Continue using the detached chain stitch until you have five petals resembling a daisy.

 

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My embroidered Sweater insperated by Erika Kern My embroidered ...
ringelpunkt

 
posted in: embroidery, sweater, lazy daisy
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Comments (19)

Ashtonjames writes: Looks to easy to do... really awesome
Posted: 9:52 am on October 1st
almac48 writes: Last time i did it, and i must admit, that's really AMAZING! I'm loving it .
Posted: 6:18 am on February 4th
mmarcks writes: Being a person who uses bleach to clean stuff and therefore have had a few splashes of bleach on sweaters and tee shirts and I have used this method to "fix" the problem. It works well.
Posted: 4:57 pm on August 22nd
Yareena writes: I did it I love love love it !! Are there more flowers to knit ?

Posted: 3:30 pm on January 10th
Yareena writes: I like it .. i love it... so totally. So here am I trying to make a daisy ... But I am not able to make the first picture.. can anaybody show how to make it ?

Love Yareena from Holland
Posted: 3:27 pm on January 10th
TexasRanchGal writes: To keep the knit from stretching when embroidering, baste wash away stablizer larger than the size of your hoop over the top of the area you are sewing and when you put it in your hoop the knit will not stretch. Also try drawing your embroidery design onto the stablizer and then rinse the item once you have finished the project.
Posted: 2:33 pm on November 22nd
sophiecai writes: it really looks great on you.....you are so talented to make a plain sweater so special.....and thanks for sharing
Posted: 9:49 am on February 17th
Macu writes: I like your sweater very much, now I want try if I can do it, despite I dont know nothing about embroidery and that stuff!!
Sorry for my english. Greets from Argentina!

Posted: 11:10 am on October 18th
Macu writes: I like your sweater very much, now I want try if I can do it, despite I dont know nothing about embroidery and that stuff!!
Sorry for my english. Greets from Argentina!

Posted: 11:05 am on October 18th
Macu writes: I like your sweater very much, now I want try if I can do it, despite I dont know nothing about embroidery and that stuff!!
Sorry for my english. Greets from Argentina!

Posted: 11:04 am on October 18th
Macu writes: I like your sweater very much, now I want try if I can do it, despite I dont know nothing about embroidery and that stuff!!
Sorry for my english. Greets from Argentina!

Posted: 11:04 am on October 18th
glamspoon writes: so simple, but so elegant!
Posted: 4:06 pm on October 3rd
Minakshi writes: This is so preety and simple, would love to make it!!
Posted: 1:11 am on September 17th
ringelpunkt writes: At last - i did it!
Posted: 12:28 pm on September 12th
susanstars writes: That is awesome, Erika! I want to make one too... :)
Posted: 8:15 pm on December 6th
LindaPermann writes: I made it! (If you enable the "patterns and designs" tag I'll post in the gallery-- for now here's a link: http://lindamade.wordpress.com/2008/12/06/and-the-winner-is-2/). Very fun!
Posted: 4:41 pm on December 6th
erika_kern writes: Thanks! It's so easy to do too.
Posted: 1:08 pm on November 26th
LindaPermann writes: oooh, i love it!
Posted: 12:35 pm on November 26th
kaytet writes: this is just lovely! and it looks great on you!
Posted: 12:23 pm on November 26th
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