Upcycle an old knitted jumper by adding a cute penguin appliqué and some crocheted snowflakes to it. Christmas sweaters are perfect projects for the holiday season to make something festive for your wardrobe!
For this project, all you need to pull this project off is a sweater or jumper (depending on what you call it where you live), either from your own wardrobe or from the thrift store, as well as some basic crochet and sewing skills. This is a perfect project to make as a gift for someone, craft together with a group of friends, or wear to a Christmas Sweater party. Let’s avoid the cheap fast fashion sweaters and make our own!
As you can see from the TikTok above (which I created 2 years after this project was completed) I didn’t only upcycle one sweater into a Christmas sweater but rather I upcycled three thrifted sweaters in total.
Check out my other upcycled Christmas sweater tutorials:
In the video tutorial above I am showing you how to crochet your own Christmas baubles & star-ornaments and decorate your sweater with those. You can watch the video here, however, if you prefer, you can keep on reading…
For this project, I got a jumper from the thrift store and as it had some stains on it I made sure to hand wash it before adding my appliqué & crochet snowflakes to it.
As it’s a lambswool jumper I washed it with my wool and cashmere shampoo. When hand-washing red jumpers, like this, make sure to wash it separately as they can stain in other garments.
How to make the Penguin Appliqué
For the appliqué, you will need:
- Wool or polyester felt or an old sweater (ideally lightly brushed/felted to prevent as much fraying as possible)
For my appliqué, I used polyester felt, which I got from the dollar store, and I also used cashmere from a worn-out cardigan. - Matching threads
- Pellon EZ II Two-Sided Fusible Web w/ Paper Backing (or similar)
- Embroidery stabilizer (or tissue paper like I used)
- Embroidery floss + embroidery needles
By following these steps you can make any appliqué design that you want. In my case, I decided to make a penguin-design because a penguin is suitable to wear during the whole winter season – unlike the other two other upcycled Christmas jumpers I have done in this little “mini-series”.
You can make your appliqué in any animal-design that you want, or go for a more typical festive design like holly, bells, Christmas trees, Santas, reindeers, etc.
Through this project, I realized that appliqué is quite a neat way to upcycle things. You can both use upcycled materials to create your appliqué but also update old garments that you have.
With all that being said – let’s get into the tutorial! 🤗
Once my jumper was clean and dry I started to plan out my penguin design which I had drawn out on paper. I used the white felt for the white parts on the top of my penguin and the grey felt on its belly. I also used black felt for the smaller black details like its feet & head. For my penguin scarf, as well as the place to stand on, I’m using my old teal cashmere jumper.
Once you finalized your design it’s time to draw the outlines of the different pieces on the Pellon EZ II Two-Sided Fusible Web. But before doing so make sure to inspect your fusible web to see which side has adhesive on it.
You should draw your appliqué on the side that is smooth like parchment paper. If you are unsure which side it is try to separate it and you will see which side comes off easier.
Then I started to draw the outlines of the different pieces. I did this by putting my penguin-design underneath the fusible web and traced it. Some of the details like the feet were easier to trace this way. Other outlines was easier to draw by laying the pieces on top. Details like the eyes etc. you will not need to draw as you will sew/embroider them on later.
Once you have drawn out the outlines on the fusible web it’s time to cut out the penguin shapes. Cut them roughly around leaving a bit of fusible web outside of outlines of the shapes. Remove the backing on the other side and finger press your appliqué onto your fabric.
I then pressed, with a hot dry iron, for five to eight seconds and then cut out the designs before removing the second backing.
I then finger pressed the appliqué in place on the jumper. You will notice it’s sticky, but you can still move around and change the placement if needed.
Now it’s time to permanently fuse the appliqué! Set iron to cotton-setting with steam. Cover the appliqué with a damp pressing cloth and press firmly down for 10 to 15 seconds.
Now the applique is attached to your jumper and now we need to secure in place further by machine stitching around the appliqué. You can also hand stitch your appliqué using a blanket stitch if you like.
I didn’t have any embroidery stabilizer so I’m using some tissue paper to stabilize my jumper. It is important to use a stabilize to not create a distorted and stretched out design. Make sure to cut your stabilizer a bit bigger than your design and then pin it in place on the back.
Now I’m going to stitch all around the edges on my penguin appliqué using matching threads – but you can also use contrasting thread if you like.
I used a matching thread at my upper thread and then I used a red thread for my bobbin. For the grey and white parts, I used an appliqué stitch on my sewing machine. I went slowly around making sure to stitch evenly and close to the edge. Another tip for a good finished result is to use a see-through and/or open-toe presser foot whilst doing this.
For the remaining parts of my appliqué, I used a zig-zag stitch. You can use this stitch for all parts of the appliqué if you do not have an appliqué-stitch on your machine.
You might need to try different settings of your zig-zag stitch on a sample piece to see which one of the settings work best for you.
I did set the stitch width to about 3 and then I did set the stitch length to 0.5 as you want a tight stitch. As such try to set your stitch length to as close to zero as possible. You might also need to play around with the tension for both the upper thread as well as the bobbin making sure you cannot see the bobbin thread towards the right side. However, the upper thread should be visible to the wrong side of your fabric.
When you sew the zig-zag stitch, unlike the applique stitch, you will want to aim to stitch 2/3 on the applique fabric and 1/3 on the background fabric.
On the black parts, I set my stitch width to 1.5 as the pieces are smaller Once again remember to take your time be patient, and go slowly.
I also stitch a black beak-detail to create some texture.
Now my applique is almost done, but first I need embroider on some eyes on my penguin. Thread an embroidery needle with black embroidery floss and stitch a couple of stitches back and forth to create the eye-shape.
Using grey embroidery floss, I decided that I also wanted to create a little detail on the penguin’s beak.
How to Crochet Snowflakes
Now my appliqué is done and it’s time to make some cute crochet snowflakes.
To make your crochet snowflakes you will need:
- White yarn of your choice
- Crochet hook, suitable for the yarn weight used
- Darning needle.
Round 1: Start by making a magic ring, then chain (ch) 3 and make 2 double crochets (dc) into the ring.
Then ch 4 and make 3 dc into ring, and repeat this 4 more times.
Follow by chaining 4 and then slip stitch (Sl st) to the first 3 chain top.
Round 2: Sl st until next chain space, then ch 1 and single crochet (sc) into the same chain space.
Ch 4 and then make 1 more sc, ch 6 make 1 sc and then ch 4 and then make 1 sc into the same chain space again.
Then ch 3 and skip the next 3 dc and then sc into the next chain space,
repeat these steps around. After making the last 3 ch sts, slip stitch in the first stitch, then fasten off and weave in threads!
The snowflake is done! ❄️ I made three crochet snowflakes in total.
Once all my snowflakes were made it was time to decide on where they will be placed on my jumper. Attach the snowflakes to my jumper using yarn and a darning needle.
To create a bit more of a “snowy sparkly look” on my jumper I also made running stitches in white yarn around the snowflakes to create a more sparkly look.
Once I did one snow sparkle I pulled my yarn towards the back and pulled my yarn through the stitches on the back until I am where my next snow sparkle will be starting, then I repeated these steps until I had as many snow sparkles as I wanted.
Then it was time to embroider on a snow sparkle on its own in some locations. I just improvise whilst doing this using running stitches crossing each other until I was happy with the design.
And now my penguin appliqué jumper is complete! 🐧 ❤️
I really hope you liked this tutorial! If you did please share it with a friend who you think might appreciate an upcycling Christmas sweater tutorial. 💖🙏🏼
If you want to see any other upcycling and DIY tutorials I would love
to hear from you what you want me to create in 2019. Leave a comment down below and let me know!
