Easy DIY Heart Back Sweater

We have had quite a cold front in our area this week! When I woke up this morning it was 17 degrees out. I know for some of my northern friends, that’s nothin’! However, to us southern gals, it’s flippin’ cold y’all! I am a sweater kinda girl, and tend to wear them pretty much year round. I have a ton of cardigans, but I LOVE the textures and softness of chunky winter knits! To celebrate my love of them, I thought I would make January a month of sweaters and share some tutorials with you. I will be upcycling some of my old sweaters and a few thrifted finds with some fun updates. Today I am going to share the easiest upcycle to kick off the series. This heart back sweater is fun and simple. All you need is a sweater and bias tape.

Supplies:

*Sweater

*Double Fold Bias Tape

*Marking Pen

*Ruler

*Sewing Machine and Coordinating Thread

Instructions:

The first thing you need to do is decide where you want your heart to go and mark for it. I made my heart a little too large for my liking and it gaps open  a little when my shoulders are back. So, I would suggest making your heart around 6-8 inches wide.

Mark the center of your sweater. Then mark out for half the width of your heart, and draw each half of your heart  out from the center mark around to the outer marks and then back down to the center.

Next, cut out your heart where you marked it with your fabric pen.

Now, sandwich the raw edge of the sweater at the bottom of the heart. Top stitch close to the edge of the bias tape around the side of the heart being careful not to stretch the knit too much when sewing. Stop stitching when you get to the middle point of the heart. Snip the threads.

Fold the bias tape over towards the stitching and press the excess over to form the fold at the tip. Stitch the tape down and pivot when you get to the tip of the heart. Stitch around the other side of the heart back around and to the bottom point. back-stitch and snip excess threads. Press the back with a warm iron according to the settings on your care tag.

Isn’t it cute! Like I said before, I feel like I made my heart too large for my personal taste, and if I make another one, I’ll be making it smaller. This was such an easy way to update an old sweater! You can complete this project in about twenty minutes, it’s so easy. You could get creative and make other cut out shapes too for the back. I hope some of you guys will try this out on your old sweaters that are lurking in the back of your closet! You’ll have a blast! I’ll be back next week with another fun sweater update. Until then…

Happy Crafting!