Easy DIY: Embroidered Flower Cardigan

Each of my girls would currently say they are in their grandma era and I think it’s adorable. What I mean, of course, is that they are all interested in some form of handmade craft or personal style that used to characterize mainly grandmas. You know… sewing, crocheting, embroidery, etc. This is a thing now, but the truth is I’ve probably always been in a grandma era in some way throughout my life way before I actually became a grandmother. I learned to sew when I was very young and I have always loved all kinds of crafting from crocheting, cross-stitch, embroidery, smocking, painting, and the list goes on, as you probably know if you have ever followed this blog. Along the way, I’ve taught my girls a few of these things and they’ve learned a lot from my mom as well.  I love that this is getting to be popular again with younger girls because who wants a generation to lose all these beautiful skills?

Recently, I got the urge to embroider a sweater so I found the perfect one and got to work.  So fun!  And my 17-year-old, Lola, is already begging for me to make her one.  I started with a basic sweater and embroidered some of my favorite flowers in various colors!  So therapeutic and fun, and I’m loving how it turned out.

Here’s the sweater I started with…

And here’s how it turned out..

I just added some of my favorite flower styles in different colors and it was a simple way to customize it!

So many of you will think this is a fun project too, so for those who have not tried embroidery before, I thought it would be a good idea to share a collection of easy tutorials for reference as well as some great sweaters and supplies you could use to make your own creations! All you need to learn are a few basic stitches, then find some inspiration you like and go to work! Practice on some scrap fabric if you have never tried it before, but it won’t take long til you are ready to start adding embroidered embellishments to all kinds of things.

Here are some great pieces you’ll need to put together a quick embroidery kit.  (These are affiliate links which help to support this blog.)

Embroidery floss– This is an excellent collection of colors at a great price to get you started

Embroidery needles– these needles have a larger eye than typical sewing needles which are perfect for embroidery floss.

Embroidery hoops– Hoops are not recommended for using on sweaters or other delicate fabrics as they can damage or misshape them, but for canvas or cross-stitch projects, these are great.

Learn to Embroider Kit–  Here is a great starter kit with a book and full patterns which could also be a great gift!

Here are a few great sweater options if you’d like one similar to mine, each under $30…

Lightweight Cardigan

Relaxed Button-up Cardigan 

Cropped 3/4 sleeve

And check out some of these simple tutorials to learn basic stitches and get you started!

Simple Flowers tutorial video 

More flowers including statin-stitched leaves video

Basic instructional post 

You’ll notice these how-to’s are using printed patterns– You can totally do that on your pieces and even some projects depending on the fabric.  For sweaters, I do not mark them simply because it’s not conducive to the knitted piece.  You’ll find that after learning basic stitches and a little practice, you should be able to do them easily without a pattern!

Hope you’ll share your sweaters and projects with me!  I’d love to see them!