Autumn Sweater Wreath

How is it possible that it is already November ?  Its crazy how quickly this year has flown by. (It was crazier yesterday when I started this post) Next thing you know it will be New Years, and I just hung up an Autumn wreath on my front door yesterday!

Only, I cant figure out how I like it... and I really don't like it at all. I like the idea of it though. See, I had this sweater, which I wore every fall, that I absolutely loved. It got a hole in the armpit and I tried to fix it with my serger, which made it even worse and unwearable. It had been sitting in my craft closet for several years because I didn't want to throw it away. Then recently I saw where someone had taken a thrift store sweater and made a wreath out of it. I knew that would be the perfect thing for my beloved autumn sweater.  I took a straw wreath  and added a hanger to the back with floral wire.
I used an upholstery needle (curved like a "c") and twisted some floral wire into the eye. 

Then I chose a spot on the back, inserted the needle, which comes right back up to the back side, and twisted the ends of the wire together. I had to use pliers to pull the wire and needle through.

Then I pulled the wire so that the twisted together ends were inside the wreath. See?

I wanted the wreath form to have some bulk so I used straight pins and pinned on some batting all the way around the form.

Next I cut off the sleeves from my sweater and cut open the sleeve near the seam. This way I could wrap it around the wreath form and sew it back together on the back side of the wreath. I just pinned it in place first all the way around to keep it straight.  I used a whip stitch, but really you could just pin it well with pins and be done with it.

I just couldn't decide how to embellish it, and with the pattern it seemed too busy for anything, but too plain without something. I did take a bunch of old flowers and leaves I had and added a small bouquet to the middle and moved the bow. I think I like this better.

Hmmm. Maybe I should shorten the dangly bits of the bow. What do you think? Any other ideas?
I thought about some felt flowers, but the one I held up to it kind of disappeared against the pattern.

  I used the rest of the sweater and made a pillow from it. I save old ugly pillows for just such a purpose and so I just sewed up 3 sides and cut off the extra bits of sweater. Then I stuffed it with the old pillow and sewed up the side. The side seam ended up being the old, finished bottom edge of the sweater so I didn't bother tucking any raw edges under. Just sewed right across the seam. It would be cute, with some chunky, brown buttons but I didn't have any.

Awe. Now on to a new Christmas wreath. I probably should think about that before Christmas is over.

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