DIY Gold Trim Cardi

Hi all - happy holidays from It's Always Autumn! Because it's been a busy month for all of us I decided to share an extremely simple sewing project today. I'll show you how to turn a plain cardigan into a party-worthy sweater with some pretty gold trim.

dress up a thrifted cardigan with gold trim for a custom look

This is super easy and makes a big difference in the look of a sweater. I especially like how gold looks on black, so I used this cardigan I thrifted a few months ago. I found the gorgeous gold lace trim at Joann's. It was pretty pricey at $15/yd, but I used a half off coupon and got 3/4 of a yard for just over $5.

NOTE: be sure the lace you choose can follow the curve of the neckline and still lay flat, as you see in the photo below.

how to add pretty trim to a plain cardigan

Start by pinning the lace around the neckline of your cardigan, then try it on to see if the lace lays flat. Adjust if needed (if your sweater is on the small side and you want to button the top button you may need to repin the lace while stretching the neckline just a touch). I cut the lace so it came close to the top button on one side and the buttonhole on the other. I dabbed just a tiny bit of fray check on the cut edges (careful not to get any on the sweater itself) and let it dry.

Then I sewed the lace trim to the sweater using a straight stitch on my machine (and matching thread). I ended up sewing around it twice - you can see the stitch holes in the photo above - but that may not have been necessary. Then I grabbed a needle and hand tacked the cut edges in place with just a few stitches each. The whole thing was easily completed in less than half an hour (plus a little drying time for the Fraycheck). A nice, easy project to start out the new year.