This is a new winter cardigan I sewed for Keira from an adult-size fairisle sweater which was beautifully made but had completely worn-out elbows. I found it at a flea market and saw that it was made from pure Shetland wool, so of course I had to get it to recycle. To make the neckband, I made a kind of bias strip from a leftover piece of soft wool fabric (that was, incidentally, from another recycled garment) and handsewed it on. It makes the cardigan a bit more appealing for the small girl to wear as the Shetland wool can be a little scratchy on the skin. And I was pleased to find a use for those sweet wooden buttons I'd been saving for something. It's still too warm to wear thick wool here yet, but I'm sure winter's not too far away.
I often get emails asking about recycling wool garments into clothes for children. In particular, questions about finishing the seams. I do have an overlocker (serger) and use that on the interior seams so they last longer. But I've also used the zig-zag stitch on my machine with good results, and also left them unfinished (this is fine for many types of wool, especially if the fabric is slightly felted already.) For more recycled wool inspiration, I've found this flickr group, and this great blog.
Wishing you a happy weekend.
tiny happy 
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