My goodness… a virus has smashed its way through our family like an out of control freight train. Caring for a sick toddler, who is also teething, coupled with my husband and I being sick, really hasn’t left me with the time (or energy) to sew.

Luckily, I finished something off before the train hit.

I bought this shawl/blanket from Uni Qlo about 2 years ago. It is very soft and surprisingly warm. However, it is a little awkward to wear, I found myself always having to adjust it. Somedays I wouldn’t even reach for it, knowing I’d be tugging at it all day.

I’d recently finished my first Berlin Jacket. I love the cut of this jacket so much, I thought it would be a great pattern to use to turn this shawl into something I was sure to wear.

 

It is obviously a much more cropped version of the original, but I really like how it turned out. The border design and tassels worked so perfectly with the straight lines of the Berlin pattern.

Construction wise, I didn’t really change much. I had to zigzag the raw edges because even though this fabric seemed to be a knit, it did start to fray after a bit of handling.

Sadly, I had to leave the pockets off. I really wanted them on there, but because the length is so cropped, the opening to the pockets would have been up around my underarms.

The pattern instructs to sew the sleeve cuffs on so they can be worn flipped out. I decided to just leave them on the inside, so it didn’t mess with the border design.

It is now much easier to wear, and I think it still has that shawl/blanket vibe going on!

GARMENT DETAILS:

• Pattern brand/name/number: Berlin Jacket by Tessuti
• Style/size: Size M
• Fabric: A shawl purchased from Uni Qlo (they don’t seem to have anything similar in store at the moment)
• Notions: Thread
• Modifications/alterations:
  • I cropped the length to fit the amount of fabric I had to work with
  • Left off the pockets
  • Sewed the sleeve cuffs to the inside, not to be flipped out
  • Zigzag stitched over the raw edges before joining the seams to prevent fraying

I love being able to breath new life into something I already own, instead of letting it go to waste. My “new” jacket fits perfectly in my wardrobe, and it almost feels like I made it for free!

Mitty x