After wrapping up my Halloween pillows project recently, I was reminded of an o-l-d project of mine from several years ago. That project and blog post (some Halloween embroidery on a thrifted sweater) needed tweaking- including re-editing the photos and such, so I removed it from my website. But after seeing how similar my jack-o-lantern pillow looked to it, I decided it was high time to re-publish that long-forgotten Halloween project post.
The Halloween pillows that made me think of my embroidery project:
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
The old embroidery project, however, had started with a different thrift store find. One from the women’s clothing racks: a bright orange cable knit sweater.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I was drawn to it because the cable knit design was reminiscent of the ridges on a pumpkin. It also happened to be tagged with the color of the week, making it only $1.00. So, buying it was a no-brainer…
Anyway, a simple embroidery project seemed like the perfect thing to do on a rainy October day. Ready to see what I ended up making with the orange sweater?
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Thrifting for Halloween Embroidery
Once I had the orange sweater in hand, I still needed some embroidery hoops for my project. And of course I found some vintage hoops while thrifting, albeit at a different store.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
First, and before anything else, I selected a large embroidery hoop for my jack-o-lantern. I then traced the inner hoop on a piece of scrap paper and set it aside. Unfortunately, I forgot to snap a photo of this step, but then again, it’s not exactly rocket science, either, so…
Next, I painted the vintage embroidery hoops with regular craft paint. The orange I chose for the large hoop wasn’t ideal, but it was what I had in my stash at the time.
Then, I layered a larger hoop in my thrifted sweater and hastily trimmed it out with my fabric scissors.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
After pulling my sweater swatch taut inside the hoop, I trimmed the excess off the back and used a fray-stopping glue to keep the fabric edges neat and tidy.
Then, on the scrap paper I’d traced on earlier, I sketched out a generic jack-o-lantern face. Once I was satisfied, I cut out all the pieces and pinned them to my hooped sweater.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Next, I used my paper templates as a Halloween embroidery pattern, of sorts. I effectively “traced” each design with black embroidery floss, using the backstitch.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I ended up doing two layers of backstitched black floss (one right next to the other) for more contrast. When all was said it and done, this is how my Halloween embroidery looked.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Lastly, I used a deeply flawed satin stitch to fill in the face with golden yellow embroidery floss! I say “deeply flawed” because my stitches weren’t straight and even- but I’m definitely an embroidery novice!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Ready to see how it looked when I was done? And the other Halloween embroidery pieces that I made, too?
Halloween Embroidery on an Upcycled Sweater
One final touch- a green felt stem (that looks weirdly like bangs/fringe!) and the first of my Halloween embroidery projects was done!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I made a couple of others using smaller embroidery hoops that I painted black. One was the outline of a cat and the other a witch’s hat.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
This is a really fun way to upcycle an orange sweater, especially if you have a snagged, stained, or stretched out one in your wardrobe! And with so many different options for Halloween embroidery designs (and characters), you could make a ton of these.
Looking for other upcycled Halloween projects that use embroidery hoops? Well, you’re in luck because I’ve made three others! And they don’t involve sewing or embroidery, in case you weren’t interested in needlecraft.
This spider web project is ideal if you have some vintage doilies in your stash. Stained or torn doilies are particularly ideal for this project, too.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And these spooky silhouettes are another fun Halloween craft project that uses embroidery hoops. They seemingly “float” inside the hoops thanks to some almost invisible fabric (also from the thrift store!).
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Last but not least, this button skull art project also used a vintage embroidery hoop. I mean, who would have guessed all the embroidery hoop craft possibilities during spooky season?
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Anyway, I hope these Halloween craft projects encourage you to play around with some of the embroidery hoops you may have in your stash. Or perhaps you’ll keep an extra eye out for them the next time you go thrifting!
Craft on!
S
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Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
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