Welcome to my easy peasy tutorial on what you can do with your kiddies favourite Christmas Jumper when it no longer fits!

Something I am really conscious of is the throwaway culture that exists in the fashion and shopping industries. At Olive & Pip we have always been mindful of this by creating gifts that can be loved and cherished forever as keepsakes even when they no longer fit. But I am also a big fan of making usable items, and getting the most use of out them as possible in their lifetime!

I have come up with the EASIEST way to make a beautiful festive decoration with your kids Draw Your Own Christmas Jumper when it no longer fits.

This is a GREAT way to enjoy their gorgeous artwork year after year, long after they outgrow their jumpers.

Measure your drawing roughly to see what size hoop would work best. I am using a 10" hoop here on a 3/4 sweater. You can purchase embroidery hoops online and in fabric shops, they come in loads of sizes and even different colours too!

 

The hoop has two parts. Loosen the larger outside hoop with the screw and take out the smaller inner hoop. The inner hoop goes under the top layer of your jumper, then you can place the outer hoop over the top of it.

Check the hoops are in the right place for your drawing and then push the outer hoop down over the inner hoop (you can loosen the screw at the top further if you need to). If the jumper collar is in the hoop it's not an issue, I think it adds to the charm! Gently pull at the edges of the jumper if you need to so the fabric in the centre of the embroidery hoop is nice and flat, then you can tighten the screw back up again. Tip: make sure the screw is nice and tight so the fabric doesn't slip out once its been cut.

 

Using fabric scissors, trim the jumper as closely as you can to the back of the embroidery hoop. It wont look absolutely perfect at the back but no one will see!

 

Look how cute this is! You can leave it like this and it can be propped up on a shelf, or you can find some nice ribbon or string to make a loop so it can be hung on the wall.

 

You can create a little collection of these in all sizes from all of the children's Christmas jumpers when they don't fit any more.

Your kids will love pulling these out of the Christmas decoration box each year, and I am sure you will love reminiscing about their adorable imaginations from when they were little as they grow up. It will make them even more special that they only come out once a year for Christmas.

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