Make Do & Mend

Seeing as I am such a skinflint bargain-hunter, my heart skipped a beat when I saw this lovely but damaged cable knit sweater in the sales yesterday.  You can barely buy a cup of coffee for £3 these days, let alone a toasty jumper.  So I snapped it up and took it home for repairs.

I 're-knitted' the ribbing using a crochet hook, and gently eased the yarn to make sure the width of the ribs matched the undamaged side as closely as possible.  As the yarn was broken in a couple of places at the edging, I had to search my stash for a similar coloured yarn - the camera has picked it up as pink with the flash but in normal light it blends quite well.  So I crocheted round the neckline with a row of slip-stitch and then a row of double crochet to secure any further loose bits.  For slobbing round the house, it doesn't matter about the slight variation in colour.

For going out, just add a scarf!

I've worn this today and have been nice and warm while the temperature plummets outside, as well as having an air of smugness at being able to save both this sweater and a wadge of cash.*

*That's not strictly true, as at the same time as buying this bargain I also picked up a thick, snuggly cardigan.....well, it was in the sales too so I'm not a complete hypocrite!