DIY Oversized (Slouchy Winter Jumper) - Video

Hey all! It's winter up here in the northern hemisphere and that means two things:

a) It's freezing

b) It's probably raining

This tutorial will hopefully give you protection against those two things; a warm sweater and something to do while it rains/something to wear while you dry off from the rain.

Let's get started!

For more details of how to make the pattern and for a written summary of the video, check out the next slides.

Step 1: You Will Need

You will need just under one metre of a stretch fabric. (The thicker the fabric the cosier the jumper!)

About an 1/8 of a meter of ribbed fabric (this is rather optional, but a contrast fabric more of your main fabric will suffice).

Step 2: Measuring the Bodice

• Above you'll see the measurements for a medium (UK size 12-14) jumper. You can easily adjust the pattern to your taste (just trace a hoodie or existing sweater).

1. Draw a rectangle that is 22 x 13" wide. (Or 55 x 32.5cm wide)
2. Next mark the width of your neck hole and connect this to a point, 2" below your shoulder corner. (This slanting line is crucial - if you don't believe me watch my tutorial).
   • *Note*: 4.25" is for a crew neck style jumper. I ended up cutting my neck-hole wider so that it was about 5.25" (or 10 to 11" when opened up).
   • Then drawn in your armhole curve (it's a very slight curve - it's basically straight).

1. Finally draw the depth of your neck-hole. Again because I widened my neckhole, my actual neck hole depth was closer to five inches.

2. Repeat this whole process for the back bodice piece (only give your back a neckhole depth of 1-2". (or 2-3" for the off the shoulder look).

Step 3: Drawing Your Sleeve Pattern + Cutting Your Cuffs

The sleeves are essentially trapezia with the cuff end of the sleeve being half of the width of the armhole.

Now add seam allowance to each piece on all sides except the sides on fold. And begin cutting your bodice an sleeve patterns!

To cut your cuff pieces:

1. Cut two 11 x 5" rectangles for your wrists
2. Cut a 52 x 5" rectangle for the bottom
3. Measure the circumference of your neckhole
   1. Add an three inches to this
   2. And create a rectangle that is (neckhole length + 3") x 4" wide.

Step 4: Sewing Your Jumper Together

This is all covered in the video from 0:52 to 4:26.

But here's a text summary.

1. Unfold your bodice pieces:
2. Sew the bodice pieces (right sides together) at the shoulder seam
3. Attach your sleeves
   1. There are two ways of attaching the sleeves
      1. You can lay the sleeves in flat (this is the easier method) and a detailed version of this can be found in this this video: (from 1:38 to 2:07)

1. You can sew the sleeves in as set-in sleeves. This is my preferred method. I just find that it feels smoother and give you greater rotation of your arms. It's really not necessary for this project though - method 1 would work just fine.

4. Attach your cuffs (around the neck and wrists and bottom)

5. Wear your fabulous new sweater!

Step 5: Tada - You're Done!

If you want to know what I would have done better, watch the video from: 4:30 to 6:24. I cut my pattern incorrectly, so I had to insert shoulder panels to fix the jumper. (I always like learning from other people's mistakes, so here are mine.)

I hope this keeps you wonderfully warm this winter and keeps you occupied on a rainy day. This would also make a cool (and practical gift) if you use funky themed fabric e.g. Star Trek themed fabric for your favourite Trekkie!

If you did like this Instructable (like it) and comment "I'm warm" down below.

If you want to see some more winter DIYs (you can find a playlist here).

I'm looking forward to making more Instructables, so if there are any winter fashion trends you want to see next, please let me know. Also sneak peak of my next instructable: a DIY Fringe Infinity Scarf!

Happy making!