Turning a Sweater into a Shrug

It feels like shrug weather. Not yet cool enough for a sweater, but just cool enough for something extra on your arms. While tossing my 19-month-old son around in his music class at the Y, I noticed that my beloved, but admittedly bedraggled, shrug from Anthropologie (home of all things shrug), had an armpit hole. Not the most attractive feature in a shrug. I have knit shrugs before, but they take much longer than a nap time to complete and they seem to grow as you wear them. I'll post a picture of my knitted shrug soon. But, here's how I made an upcycled shrug during Jack's nap. (OK, the order of the photos is completely wrong.  But somehow, I cannot figure out how to move them around.  I'm starting to loathe blogger).

Step 1: Dig out a sweater from those I've collected from thrifting with an eye to turn them into something else.

I have actually washed and dried this one because it is 100% cashmere and you can do that. 

Then, I cut it up the center.

Next, I laid my old shrug on top, as a rough pattern, and cut across the bottom and roughly followed the "ties" on the old shrug.

That's it.  Voila!  Shrug-mania.

Now, full disclosure, I made another one first, a former thin cashmere turtleneck which I think turned out better.  The open turtleneck made sort of a sailor collar and the thinner weight looks nice, however, it has three moth holes which are still quite visible (of course), so it may need some embroidery or be turned into a stuffie.

Also, I don't love this new blue shrug, so I'm thinking that I might cut up another sweater and stitch on a bottom.  Then, I might add a fat snap and cover the placket with some ribbon to make kind of a reconstructed thing.  It could all turn out to be very homemade, but I will