DIY Sweater Beret Refashion

As the weather begins to cool I've been inspired to start creating cozy projects. I had this sweater in my bin for awhile now. It was an old sweater of my son's that had some piling. I decided to use it to create these sweater boots here. I had enough material left to create a smaller project like a hat. I wanted to do a spin on your basic beanie and made this cute sweater beret. It's also a really quick project and took me less than a 1/2 hour. Get the details below and make your own. 

Supplies:

• sweater or sweater material
• plate or circle template
• Brother SE1900 Sewing Machine 
• basic sewing notions
• pins

I used a plate as the template for my pattern. The plate was about the size I wanted (12" diameter). For the band pattern I measured the circumference of my head and subtracted 1". The width was 2.5".

Cut out your pattern. My sweater was perfect for this project. It had the rib knit along the edge which is ideal for the band part of the hat. I cut 1/4" away from the rib knit for the seam allowance. 

Fold the band in half right sides together and sew 1/2" seam allowance. 

Find the quarter measurements on both the circle and band (fold in half, and then fold in half) and mark. Match the marks together so the right sides are facing and pin. 

Pin the center of each section to get the 1/8ths. Then repeat as necessary till the band is around the circle. 

Now sew right sides together with a slight zigzag stitch (2.5 length 2.0 width) all the way around with a 1/2" seam allowance. 

That's it! This project took me less than 30 minutes to complete. I love that now an old sweater is a new beret hat and pair of boots.