Day 25: A Dollar Saved...

One of my favorite sayings of late is actually an old adage. An adage that I hadn't heard until recently, and now can't get out of my head. It says:

A dollar saved is easier than a dollar earned.

So when I saw this Adorable cardigan in J.Crew's fall collection (by the way, I think Everything in J.Crew's fall collection is adorable. It's probably a good thing we don't have a store around here!), I wondered how I could get my hands on one while still abiding by the adage.

If you guessed that I started rummaging through my closet, you'd be right. It just so happens that I've been hanging onto this merino-blend bland beige sweater for years. And every season I wear it less and less.

You might notice that it is conveniently the same hue as the J.Crew cardi.

Next I located my yarn/tapestry needle, which you can find at almost any craft store.

Then I raided my yarn stash in search of a color for the stripes and came across this gray ball of scrap yarn that I've probably had for 7 years. It is too scratchy and...well...acrylic to make anything of substance with. But it's perfect for embellishment!

Never one to trust my ability to eyeball a straight line (although believe me I've tried many times, always with disastrously crooked effects), I decided to measure and tape off a line for my first stripe.

And yes, I know they have all of these wonderful products like tailor's chalk and washable fabric pens...but I have found that many, many solutions can be uncovered using masking tape.

I guess that kinda makes me like one of those guys who lauds the perfection of duct tape. Anyhoo...

It was time to start the striping. Normally when stitching onto a knitted fabric it is recommended that you use a v-shaped stitch to match the original weave.

But I'm a rebel, so I went for a straight stitch instead. Fashion purists be warned!

So far I've worked my way across the front of the sweater, and a portion of the back. And the whole time I was stitching while watching the new Office episode, my husband was watching me.

Finally he said "is it really worth it?"

To which I replied, "Why yes--it's precisely $98.00 worth it."

Truly a dollar saved is easier than one earned.

Stay tuned for show & tell of the finished cardigan, coming soon!

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