You guys, I hate turtlenecks…especially turtleneck sweaters.
I have a short neck, which doesn’t help.
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Did you ever break the neck plug on one of your Barbie’s heads when you were little and then jammed the head back down on the broken neck as best you could? Well…that’s me. (lolz)
Between feeling like I’m being strangled constantly to having a double chin while wearing them, turtlenecks just aren’t for me.
So why, you may wonder, did I choose this very turtleneck-y sweater from the $1 clearance rack at the thrift store? Am I just a glutton for punishment?
Oh no, my friends. I had a plan!
We’re gonna turn this turtleneck sweater into a crew neck sweater!
It’s going to be extremely easy too! Seriously. This takes less than 15 minutes.
First, I trimmed off most of the turtleneck with my sewing shears.
Don’t worry about it fraying! It’s not going to fray!
Next, I folded the ribbed remainder of the turtleneck over the existing neckline and then under.
Look at the adorable tin my clips came in!
One of you guys recommended sewing clips for projects that are too finicky for pins in a recent post. You’ll be happy to know I took your advice to heart and ordered some!
If you want some swell sewing clips of your own, here ya go!
I now own more sewing clips than I will probably ever need.
I clipped my new soon-be-crew neck down, stretching the ribbing a little as I went.
You might think there’s no way the neck hole is going to be big enough to be comfortable, but you’re wrong!
While we’re at it, let’s take a closer look at that label!
The ribbing is going to stretch a little as I sew it, making a perfect crew neck! You’ll see!
I set my machine to a zigzag stitch (to allow for maximum neck stretchiness) and stitched it down, removing the clips as I came to them.
I pressed my new neckline and was all done!
- You might also enjoy this turtleneck to off-the-shoulder sweater refashion.
- Or refashioning a sweater with a deconstructed neckline.
- It’s actually quite simple to cut the turtleneck off a sweater if you like that look too.
But what the heck…let’s make a little hat too!
Because the weather where am was just warm enough to open the windows, but just cold enough to make my head cold, I decided to have a little fun with that leftover neck scrap!
I folded the turtleneck tube in half and snipped off a corner.
Then, I pinned the raw edge.
I stitched along that curved edge.
Now I have a matchy-matchy crew neck sweater and (odd) tiny hat!
I styled my sweater with a pair of jeans, my art deco mother of pearl earrings, and my favorite Toms!
You guys might remember those double-waisted jeans I refashioned last week! They’re now one of my favorite pairs!
Yes, the teeny tiny hat is admittedly silly, but I think it works well enough for my head warming needs.
You can even see my Eddie Munster-esque widow’s peak coming back in!
If you, like me, loathe turtlenecks, I hope this tutorial inspires you to give them a second look when you see them at the thrift store!
Pin this refashion tutorial for how to turn a turtleneck sweater into a crew neck using this link.
Cheers!
Turtleneck to Crew Neck Sweater Refashion
Materials
- One Turtleneck Sweater
Tools
- Fabric Shears
- Sewing Machine
- Sewing Clips
Instructions
- Trim off most of the turtleneck with your sewing shears, leaving about 1" of the original turtleneck behind.
- Fold the ribbed remainder of the turtleneck over the existing neckline and then under.
- Clip your new soon-be-crew neck down, stretching the ribbing a little as you go.
- Set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch (to allow for maximum neck stretchiness) and stitch your neckline down, removing the clips as you come to them.
- Press your new neckline and enjoy!
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