Isn't this the sweetest little cropped sweater? "Where," you might ask, "did she find it?" The answer: Rght in her closet, hiding in back with others Jennifer doesn't wear. It's just a regular cardigan sweater, plus embroidery, with the lower band cut off and serged back on a few inches higher. She used the differential feed to keep the knits from stretching, so you can't even tell the sweater's been altered. Jennifer stabilized the sweater behind the embroidery with a bit of Armoweft interfacing to keep the stitching from pulling and puckering. I don't know about where you are, but here in the mountains it's getting awfully chilly, so I'm getting out my serger and embroidery module and heading for that box of old sweaters in the garage...

I recently wore these aprons to an event, and they caused quite a stir, so I wanted to share them! The idea came from a new Indygo Junction book called Denim Redesign, which includes all kinds of projects for using repurposed denim. Ask for the book at your local Bernina store, they are able to order it from Brewer Quilting & Sewing Supply. I used one pair of old bib overalls to make both of these very handy aprons.

The front of the bib overalls became this apron, and I used Benartex City Girl fabric for the ties and extras. The embroidery design on the pocket is an OESD design from the Go Retro! collection. I love all the pockets on this apron, small scissors, seam rippers, and seam guages fit perfectly in the nooks and crannies of the top pockets - all the tools I could ever need while working on a project!

The back of the bib overalls made this apron, and I used an Alexander Henry's Tatsu fabric for the ties, the trim, and the dragon applique.

I used a piece of plain red fabric underneath the dragon applique, and used the Bernina Stitch Regulator to stitch all around the shape. Then, I cut away more of the dragon fabric to leave some of the red to show all the way around, and left the edges raw. I used the Button Sew On Stitch on my artista 730 to attach the decorative buttons at the top of the apron and pockets.

These projects were a lot of fun to finish, especially since I salvaged the bib overalls from going into the trash!