the sweatshirt that took me 5 years to fix

I love it when Lucy takes pictures cause I end up with fun angles and unexpected close-ups.

And she gives me a play-by-play while she’s shooting….
“Okay, now I’m going to get a shot of your bag.  Now I’m taking a picture of just your feet.  Now I’ll get Clara in the picture too.”
She’s the perfect photographer when I have a quick project to share, and need to be in the photos.  And this silly project has taken me 5 years to tackle.

I bought this sweatshirt from the FIDM scholarship store in LA for $3 before Owen was born.

Pretty cute! It fits great.
I love the puffed sleeves and front pockets (and it goes great with my reversible color-blocked tote)

But the back looks like this, with cut marks and Sample stamps.

…which is why I’ve never worn it….and have been meaning to sew something over the top….but just couldn’t think of what to do….and it got shoved to the bottom of a  pile…and I stumbled on it the other day when cleaning out my closet and decided to FINALLY fix the problem, by throwing a heart on  it!  Hearts solve everything right?

• I placed paper over the problem spot and hand-drew a heart
• I Cut out the heart from an interlock knit (from Joann’s)
• I pinned it like crazy, with part of the heart spilling over to the side seam
• Then I sewed it on top, sewing slowly and lifting my presser foot periodically to let the fabric relax and bounce back.

And….done!

Successful hoodie! (that only took me 5 years and 15 minutes to sew)


And a mostly successful photoshoot (that always involves a little chaos and some pretty patient kids)




And that’s definitely a wrap.
Have a great weekend!

  1. You all look so cute! Happy w-end!

  2. Love it! I think I have that same shade of pink from Jo-ann’s and it’s perfect <3

  3. 4) Patti S

    That’s cute! Love it! I have a hoodie that is in need of some attention…One day I thought my 5 yr old was lovingly patting me on the back…later I discovered that he had a sharpie marker in his hand and was putting dots on the back of my hoodie. :/ I’m definitely going to try this!

  4. 5) Kristie

    Love the heart. But also wish there was a pattern for that sweatshirt. It is adorable!

  5. 6) Courtney

    I love what you did with the hoodie, but I really love your shirt!! Where is it from?

    • 7) Dana

      Forever 21! Last summer though 🙁

  6. That is cute, and your daughter did a great job taking pictures. And little Clara is as cute as ever!

  7. Love the sweatshirt! What a Great idea. Also digging the aqua pants!!

  8. 10) Alexis

    I love what you did with the hoodie. YOu are always dressed so cute!

  9. “lifting my presser foot periodically to let the fabric relax and bounce back”

    Ahh, so that’s the secret to keep the ugly “stretchies” at bay? Such a cute fix.

  10. Wow! Great fix. I kind of want to do that to a hoodie that has nothing wrong with it 🙂

  11. 15) KelliO

    I love it when Lucy takes pictures! I totally know that 5-year wait. Some projects need to ripen with age, like wine and cheese. 🙂

  12. So cute dana!! I may make myself a shirt with appliqué off center

  13. 17) Melinda

    your fix make me want to fix a slew of uni-sex XL t-shirts I have been keeping. Yep, I have a pattern to do that, they’ve been washed, I know it won’t take me very long to do one as a trial. Maybe today is the day!
    PS, get Lucy to take some house-in-process pics!

  14. oh my gosh so so cute!!! love the sweatshirt, how cool, great details on it. and the pictures, so pretty!!

  15. 19) Deb

    Wonder if you could share where you bought Cara’s gorgeos silver sequined shoes pls! 🙂

    • 20) Dana

      Old Navy, a few months ago :(. I wish they still had them because I’d buy 3 more pairs in every size!

  16. 21) Jo

    Great fix! What would you suggest for a favorite hoodie whose cuffs have gotten ratty?

    • 22) Dana

      I’d buy ribbing and make new cuffs!….maybe in a fun contrasting color

  17. oh my gosh you are the cutest mom ever!!!!!!! We are twinner styles for sure. I rock those target v-necks and bright skinnies everyday. love that hoodie!

  18. 24) Erika

    Good job, Lucy!! And nice work on the sweatshirt too. 🙂

  19. I love this, Dana — so fun! This may become my fix for a project that was 95% complete and then I realized that while I was serging the final seam, I had inadvertently caught some of the main body fabric in the serger. AAAGH! Not a fun time. Btw, love the roots! Ha, ha. No meanness intended, just teasing because I look about the same right now. I have an appt next Friday, thankfully! 🙂

  20. 26) Juanita in OH

    What an amazing finished product, you performed magic!! Your children are A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E. TFS.

  21. 27) Paige W

    So you to put a heart on it!

  22. Oh My, you just made my day by mentioning FIDM! I miss that place 🙂 Did you attend school there or just visit the store?

  23. 29) Svannah

    Oh man…I love it. And your jeans! 🙂

  24. 30) Andrea

    Love the quick fix, Lucy is quite the phtographer!

  25. I’m so glad I’m not the only one that does things like that! I have 2 months of pregnancy left on what (I think) is our last baby, and I just found a maternity shirt in my pile of clothes to fix. It’s never been worn, since the straps kept falling off my shoulders, and all I need to do is shorten those straps, but somehow that never happened during the last pregnancy… guess I need to hurry and get on that! 😉

  26. Oh, how I love your pictures. Every single time.

  27. 33) Sandi

    Super cute!

  28. 34) Hannah

    Way cute and super simple.

  29. I love the sweatshirt, but my favorite is the lens cap in your back pocket! Who knew that this new generation of camera-toting, crafty mommas would pick up where skoal-packing cowboys left off. Long live the worn ring on the back pocket!

    • 36) Dana

      haha. I wondered if anyone would notice that :). The new Skoal! haha

  30. 37) Erica

    Cute fix! But what I really love are those silver shoes! I would love to get some of those for my daughter (who turned one today!)

    • 38) Dana

      Old Navy, a few months ago :(.

  31. 39) Carolyn Thornley

    Very Cute!!!

  32. 40) Jackie Sorich

    Great job. Some projects just cannot be rushed! Your photographer is excellent!
    Thanks.
    Jackie

  33. What an adorable way to fix that hoodie! It’s super cute. And I love the pics that Lucy took. 🙂

  34. I don’t know if I have a sweatshirt that needs fixing, and I don’t know if I can get to a garage sale fast enough to get one! I really like what you did with the heart shape. Oh, and your family is adorable; I cannot believe how big the littlest is getting!

  35. 44) Ashley

    So cute! I hate pins and love heat n bond….pin free. Have you tried that ever? Once you do you will try to use it for everything.

    • 45) Dana

      yes! it’s so awesome. Sometimes though, I don’t want that feel of an extra layer. I guess this knit is thick enough though that I prob wouldn’t have even noticed.

  36. I love how that turned out! And I love that shirt you’re wearing too! The bows are super fun! Have a great weekend too.

  37. Love it ,such idea I love anything that involves sewing and upcycling, and brilliant photos as usual

  38. The jacket looks fabulous. Photography is great!

  39. Such a cool idea. I have a pair of capris that I accidentally ripped on the one leg after wearing them once. And they are so comfortable. So I’v been holding onto them for a few years. I think you may have given me an idea. We’ll see if I can salvage my pants like you did your sweatshirt. Thanks for the idea and such fun photos of your totally adorable family to look at. 🙂
    Melissa

  40. 51) iHeartQuilting

    Great idea! And sparkly baby shoes – awesome!

  41. Totally adorable! Have you tried an iron adhesive to hold appliques in place while you sew them? I used to do the pinning and it seemed no matter what I did something would pucker. I use Heat N’Bond now.

    • 53) Dana

      yes yes. I love Heat N’ Bond. Sometimes though, I don’t want that feel of an extra layer. I guess this knit is thick enough though that I prob wouldn’t have even noticed.

  42. 54) Angie

    I love this! What a great idea! I want to do it on a sweatshirt even without sample marks and cuts. 😉 Where did you get those darling sparkly shoes? Your kids are impossibly cute.

    • 55) Dana

      Old Navy! But a few months ago :(….I’m sure they’re all gone now. Blast.

  43. The sweatshirt looks really cute now! And it’s true! Hearts fix everything! 🙂

  44. 57) erin w

    If anyone else wanted to do this with no pins but didn’t want heat and bond bulkiness, there is a wash away wonder tape that you can buy at Joannes. you use it like heat and bond, but it dissolves when you wash the garment. Dritz makes it. : )

  45. 58) Missy B

    I have so many projects that have taken me X years and 15 minutes to complete.
    WHAT is wrong with us?

    thanks for sharing.

  46. 60) Jenny

    Great solution to an “ugly” problem! I have lots of things with “sample” stamped somewhere in a most inconvenient place… Maybe some of those things will receive some hearts, of course it’s probably been well more than 5 years since I acquired them, but! Love Clara’s Shoes… so cute.

  47. 61) Cassandra

    Cute! I have been wanting to sew knit on knit but have been scared (I am a massive novice here) but I have got to try it!

    Mostly I wanted to say….I love the picks of your little Clara!! My daughter is almost the same age (born Dec of 2011) and they look so much alike, except that her hair isn’t as pretty as your daughter’s! I about die reading these posts during nap or bedtime without wanting to go wake my daughter up to kiss her and squeeze her and make her laugh!!!!!

  48. 62) molly

    beautiful! do you have any tips on sewing something like that without a sewing machine? Or fixing really frayed sweatshirt cuffs (so frayed the cuffs have basically split at the edges) without replacing them?

    also, your kids are adorable! great photoshoot too :).

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