Sweater with Removable Leather Details

Here it is! My completed sweater with leather details- and not just any leather details, removable leather details! Though it has been a long process, I'm so happy with the outcome.

Inspired by this trend, I have created a mood board on Pinterest dedicated to collecting like images, but there were a couple of aspirational pieces in particular swirling around in my head during this refashion.

My most recent post showed how I made the collar. And though the collar was the most complex piece to this puzzle, I won't describe the rest was as simple...

This blue-green sweater is a thrifted find, which began several sizes too big for me. I loved the over-sized length, but ultimately needed to rid the frump.

Following the tailoring principles laid out so clearly in a tutorial by Australian blogger, jltfk, I took in the shoulders, arms, and body. (The shape would have shown better in photos on me rather than a hanger.)

Measuring the length from the end of the sweater cuff to my wrist, the width around my arm, plus room to hem, I cut rectangles for cuffs from an old pair of leather pants. (If I were going to do this over again, I'd cut these larger, rather than just the exact measurements required. A bit more wiggle room would have been nice.)

For each cuff, using a leather needle, I machine sewed a hem on one long side.

Folding in half width-wise, right sides facing, I sewed again, leaving as slim of an allowance as possible...

then turned each cuff right side out.

At 5 points along the outside, raw edge of each cuff, I hand sewed snap faces.

Inside the cuffs of sweater, I carefully matched up and sewed in the counter parts.

By stitching between layers of the sweater knit, instead of going all the way through, the snaps are invisible from the outside.








(Most of this was done on a day off, while watching a marathon of Project Runway All Stars.)








The removable aspect of these details is important to me because I really want to be able to wear and launder this sweater easily. I am NOT a fan of dry/leather cleaning. It's expensive, it requires time and extra errand running, it's no good for the environment, and I just always wonder- is it even clean? In my brain, the chemicals probably do me more harm than any germs, dirt, or microbes would. Like I said, not a fan. Hence, with removable pieces, this problem is solved in a snap! Now I can take off the cuffs and collar, spot clean them as needed, wash the sweater on a delicate cycle, and lie flat to dry. Done.

A sophisticated garment was my goal and I think I achieved that to the best of my ability. I can genuinely say that I am proud of my work. 

Removable Leather Collar

Leather details are everywhere right now. While I'm not always a trend follower, I am really digging a lot of what I see, and when it's done well it has such a luxurious and classic appeal. My goal with this project, is to create a sophisticated looking garment with that luxe appeal.

Truth: I'm finishing up the full refashion that goes with this- the process has been very time consuming! As a preview, here's how I made the detachable leather collar for this sweater that I'm still working on...

Thanks to an archived Collar Tutorial on a fabulous (but expired) blog, 3 Sheets, I had a great reference and place to start, but I tweaked her steps a bit:

The back left leg of this hot pair of leather pants is my canvas, without which, none of this would be possible. Thank you, leather pants, for being such a cheap and ridiculous thrift store gem. I am honored to cut you apart and transform you. (I already used them to make soles for slippers in my Funny Footsie post.)

Using the 3 Sheets template (along with a collared shirt of mine to double check that sizing was correct), I cut out the pieces for the collar: 2 for the actual collar, and 1 for the neck piece. 

With the 2 collar pieces, right sides facing, I machine sewed along the 3 straight sides, leaving the curved neck side open.



I did not use pins, as I did not want holes showing in the leather. I used a leather needle in the machine, and just went slowly and carefully.

After ironing the long hem down, I flipped the collar right side out, (fiddling with the collar tips and a pointy object for a bit), and ironed down again on the sewn length to get a flat-ish crease.

Ironing leather can be done on a low temp, no moisture, with brown paper to protect the leather and iron from one another. *Always test using a scrap if uncertain.



(I did not use interfacing here. Although traditionally used in a collar, the leather will be plenty weighty without.)

My intention was to topstitch along the edge of the collar, but my test scrap was showing tracks from my foot in the leather. (Too thick I guess.) I decided to skip it, but I bet if I had a special foot it could've happened.



With the suede side, facing the desired top side of the collar, I machine sewed the neck piece to the collar.

I chose to only use 1 piece of leather for the neck piece, rather than 2, as suggested on the 3 Sheets tutorial. Sewing 4 pieces of leather together sounded a bit cumbersome. (Also, I thought the suede side to my neck would be nice and soft!)

With pinking sheers, I trimmed the excess as close as I could to the seam, to remove as much unnecessary bulk as possible.

Folding the suede side over the seam, I and ironed again as above.

Standing this collar up was very satisfying indeed. I left the little ends of the neck piece longer than the collar itself and trimmed just slightly once I fit it into the sweater. (Would be a great spot for a little button.)



At this point, I could have sewn it in to the neck of the sweater, but I chose a different route...


Instead, placing the collar into the sweater, pinning once in the middle of the back, I marked 5 spots (using chalk) for snaps on the leather face of the neck piece; 1 center back, 1/e shoulder seam, and 1/e collar tip.

Hand sewing each snap in place, (flat side to the sweater, pokie side to the collar) 1 at a time to ensure correct alignment, is by far the most arduous part of this process.

I'm excited about how it's coming along and about the removable nature of the collar! Not only will it make laundering super easy, but it will keep this sweater versatile too. And in theory, if I feel like sewing more snaps, the collar can be snapped right onto another top. I say "in theory" because I might be done with snaps for a while after this baby is complete!

Sneak peek! My next post will feature the full refashion of this sweater, tailored for size, with more removable leather details! Wish me luck with the snaps...


Update: Now see the full refashion, Sweater with Removable Leather Details.