A Sweater to a Mock Neck Vest Refashion

I have wanted to find a mock neck vest with a bit of personality for a while. Whenever I went out, I kept my eyes peeled, but no luck. One day, I came across this sweater at TJMaxx. The sweater itself is not my style, but I saw potential. I will share what I did to refashion this sweater to a mock neck vest.

1. Cut off the bottom. I didn't need the black + white border and I had enough length, so I cut it off.

2. Cut off the sleeves. Before I decided to buy the sweater, I made sure that the seam of the sleeve and shoulder were where I wanted, which is a couple inches past the shoulder.

3. Cut open the sides. I wanted to wear the vest with my oversize shirts and dresses, so I decided to cut the sides open and stitch up a little bit later. I also cut the front a little shorter. This step is a personal preference in what kind of design you want or how you want it to look when you are wearing it.

4. I used a plate to draw curved lines on the front and back corners to have a nice curved finish instead of straight corners.

5.Serge the edges. If you don't have a serger, you could use zigzag or other stitch setting on your sewing machine to prevent fraying.

6.To make nice and smooth curved corners, stitch the bottom corners with big stitches. Trace the dinner plate onto thick paper (I used a cereal box) to make a template. Place the template 1/2" to 3/4" away from the edge of the bottom corners and pull the threads to gather fabric. press with iron.

7. Sew all around the edge. I hand sewed with slip stitches, because I didn't want the stitch line to show on the front, but I could have sewn with a machine too. Then I sewed the sides. As I mentioned in the beginning of the tutorial, I decided to only stitch a few inches on both sides. This way, the armholes would be opened big, and the bottom opening is more flexible to accommodate oversized clothing when I want to coordinate with such. Make sure to try it on before you determine where to sew on the sides to figure out the best area. My recommendation is around your natural waistline area.

Time to enjoy!

This is pretty much exactly what I envisioned and I love it! I’ve worn it several times already, so has my daughter! I guess it is a definite win when your adult daughter asks to borrow it.