Sweater to Banana Republic Inspired Vest

I love making my own version of something, it's just so satisfying to see something you like and make it yourself, especially when it costs less!
It's still cool and rainy here on the East Coast and will be for a few more weeks.  Today was one of those days where it was warm enough to go without a winter coat, but wind and rain meant I still needed an extra layer.  Even though IronFish makes fun of the current belted fashions, I still sported it today.

A while back, I saw the Fringed zip vest on Banana Republic's website.  I love their clothes but just can't bring myself pay their regular prices (sometimes I find a great bargain on the clearance rack, with a coupon and a gift card, then I'll splurge there).  For that matter, I don't like to spend full price on clothes even at Wal-mart!

I found this sweater at the thrift store for $4 (I'm pretty sure it originally came from Wal-mart actually, Faded Glory):

A little chain saw scissor action and the sleeves and zipper were history (yes, BR's has a zipper, I didn't want one).  I ran my machine about 1 inch inside the new cut edges and got to work fraying that inch.  Around the arm holes was a different story.  The knit went the opposite way of what I needed so I frayed one of the cut off sleeves and hand sewed it back on to give it a fringy look (that's a technical term ;).

Here's the finished result:

 And another view, a bit closer:

Sorry I had to act as my own photographer and model, maybe one of these days someone will figure out how to make human clones (I'd like one to dedicate to housework, please!)

Recently I've been very inspired by Tiffany at Making the World Cuter to dress a bit more stylish and since I'd like to upcycle my wardrobe a bit, I'm going to challenge myself to make at least one item of clothing per week, thanks to Elizabeth at Sew Chatty for the Wardrobe Challenge idea.

It was super comfy and I got a few compliments on it, despite the teasing I got from IronFish...

Peace be with you,