DIY – Dyed and Embellished Cashmere jumper refresh

A little end of winter DIY for you today. I always feel so fed up of my winter clothes by this time of year – breezy summer blouses are too chilly and heavy winter jumpers too dull. This tutorial brings a dash of spring sunshine but will keep you nice and toasty whilst waiting for actual spring to arrive.

One of my biggest treats are cashmere jumpers, I save up birthday money and buy a new one every year when Boden has 20% off. However, I’m not sure what I was thinking when I decided pale pink and small children was a good idea – it didn’t last long. Too good to throw away but too stained to wear I decided to refresh it by using up some dye I had in my stash. Whilst I was happy with the outcome it still needed something extra. When I ‘discovered’ Swarovski crystals came in delicious jewelled shades I knew I had the missing material for my project and got stitching. Of course I’m not saying you need to purchase a cashmere jumper for this tutorial, that would be a bit excessive but if you have a jumper that needs a refresh or want to embellish a plain jumper then this could be the tutorial for you! Materials and steps below…

You’ll Need

• If you’re dying, a woollen jumper (light coloured is best) or a plain jumper/sweatshirt if you’re not, Dylon cold water dye (I used a half/half mix of Flamingo Pink and Goldfish Orange).

• Salt

• 6 x Pear shape, Crystal Lilac – crystal setting

• 4 x Oval shape, Crystal Light Coral – crystal setting

• 6 x Teardrop shape, Crystal – crystal setting

• Needle and thread.

Step 1

If you’re dying your jumper, follow the instructions on the dye packet to create your colour. I wanted mine coral so mixed two shades. I could have stirred mine a bit longer as its a bit patchy in places but I’m ok with that. Make sure its dry completely before you start to embellish.

Step 2

Fix all your stones into their settings and then scatter your jewels over the jumper to get an idea of placement. I always mark where the centre of my boobs are to avoid awkward crystal position ;-)!. The back of the coral stones were a lovely matt colour so I fixed a few in their settings the ‘wrong’ way round.

Step 3

Sew the lilac and coral stones in place first and and add a few crystal shapes to complete.

The crystals used in this post were kindly provided by Swarovski at a blogger event but I was under no obligation to use and share. Tutorial, photos and styling all my own.