Copycat – Anthropologie

Mar 6, 2013 | 32 Comments

I had another fun day of crafting with my girl Sonya Nimri, and we decided to try to remake Anthropologie’s Looped Buds Cardigan…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Anthropologie Looped Buds Cardigan!

…because we had the perfect thrifted sweater to use!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

BEFORE

The floral print kind of looked similar to this speckled knit sweater (from afar) so we decided to try to make it work!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Back View

We had some canvas ribbon that we decided to paint to make a similar color like the ribbon on the Anthro sweater!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

String, strang, strung!

We used Tulip’s Fabric Spray Paint…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Dye Mixing!

…and did some mixing and matching.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Spritzing!

The color was a bit more orange than melon…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Dye Soak!

…but we thought it would still work out!  We hung it on a line to dry…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Hanging on the line to dry!

…and then began to affix to the sweater.  Because the color wasn’t perfect, we opted to just weave instead of stitch down.  We figured we’d have the sweater ready to shoot after we worked on it and if we weren’t into it, we could start it all over again.

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Post dye!

We weaved the sleeves…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Sleeve weave!

…and weaved the back of the sweater…

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Weave party!

…to have it turn into this!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

AFTER

The essence of the Anthropologie sweater is here, however I’m totally going to go back and re-dye the ribbon a bit more pink, fold the ribbon in half to make it a little skinnier, then stitch the ribbon down.  This will make it look WAY better!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

Cardi time!

We just loved that we found such a great base piece to work off of that we just had to try this project out!!

New Dress A Day - DIY - Anthropologie Copycat - Looped Buds Cardigan

From behind!

We totally had a trial and error craft day which is awesome to really find out what works and what doesn’t!  Next time you see this piece, it’ll look a little bit different :)

In all · Copy Cat
  • wen

    With the trim on your sweater, I would probably dye a similar blue instea of pink.

  • Paula

    sorry, this one is a fail for me….Mostly I love your recreations but I didn’t even like the original so ….. I agree that a blue to match the trim would would better than that orange. Hugs

    • KiKi Thomas

      You took the words right out of my mouth

    • newdressaday

      I’m in the same boat :) Wanted to share the hits and the misses…

  • Loyal fan

    That sweater is very pretty on you! Try purple yarn to match the purple epauletts on the sweater. I always love looking at your blog to see what you have thought of next.

    • newdressaday

      Yarn could be a good way to go…the updated version will be much better :)

      • http://www.facebook.com/KaleaKai Cassie M Schoonover

        Oh a nice bright blue yarn and kinda stitch it into the sweater!

  • Els

    I’d go for purple or green instead, and maybe eiber satin biaistrim or use wol that you vinger crochet.

  • Cathy Griffin

    I think it would look gorgeous with a blue/purple very thin satin ribbon. I just finished crocheting a sweater and did this same kind of trim around the shawl collar, without knowing about the Anthro sweater.

  • Desiree

    I like the concept and I like your ideas for tweaking based on your trial and error – might I also suggest an update on those buttons on the front? I don’t know what the front of the Anthropologie piece looks like but I think your piece would benefit from some buttons that either blend better or tie in with your choice of ribbon color.

  • DinaB

    The best part of the way you did this one is that you can take it out and try again. Cute sweater before, a bit confusing after. Practicing can be fun and very helpful to see what works and what doesn’t. The best thing is that you had fun and didn’t spend alot of money!

  • Lauraly

    I like the sweater, but the color and the pattern of the ribboning looks off. Perhaps a more coordinating color and a more uniform pattern? Excellent idea!

  • Bella

    I am a big fan of your creations but this one is a NO for me! It was classier before and it turned cheap after. The color of the ribbon did not match at all and should have been at least close to the cardigan’s color and definitely less swirls especially on the arms..they remind me of the mummys!..sorry :)

    • newdressaday

      We didn’t sew down knowing tweaks would be made after – totally agree though! I wasn’t going to post at all, but I figured it would be good to see not so successful pieces too :)

  • Christy

    You are brave for showing us this one. Sorry, didn’t work for me.

    • newdressaday

      Same here, mama!

  • Shannomo

    I didn’t like this, sorry. I love most all of your re-creations, but this, no. Love your site!

  • Ce

    Love that you dared to something that didn’t work. I think -contrary to all other comments, it seems- that the contrast works great. I would actually try to get rid of the blue trim somehow.

    First comment I make in over 2 years following you! hugs all the way from Argentina.

    • newdressaday

      Yay! Thanks for commenting, lovely :) Love to Argentina!!

  • kissem37

    Love that you’re willing to share the missteps with us- many of my projects go the same route! Try one method, hate the look, pull it all out, start over, maybe hate that too! Rinse and repeat :)

    • newdressaday

      Rinse and repeat :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/KaleaKai Cassie M Schoonover

    It’s not the worst thing I’ve ever seen. I actually kinda like the peachy color, but I think the ribbon you used is a bit too wide for this look?
    Perhaps using a nice peachy yarn o even a cobalt or royal blue yarn and stitching it into the sweater

  • Anna Erishkigal

    I love your recreations, but this one didn’t work for me. The sweater before fits you well. Suggest you crochet or make a thin I-cord out of purple yarn to match the trim around the edge and keep it tighter to the sweater, the swirls more organized. Glad to see you post the things that don’t work once in a while.

  • carol

    Sorry, this didn’t work. I think the sweater would look better minus the ribbon and minus the pocket flaps. Love the teal jeans!

  • http://www.facebook.com/kate.martin.90226 Kate Martin

    Thanks for posting a project that didn’t quite work — makes me feel better about some of my projects that have had to head back to the drawing board… and eventually this sweater will be fantastic!

  • Jennifer

    I’m glad that you’re showing the bloopers (like this one), and I like how you’re explaining what went wrong and how it can be improved. I can’t wait to see the improved finished product.

  • Sarah_H.

    Two things aren’t working here…the ribbon color and the way it loops in and out of the knit..Can we see this with a turquoise or lavender ribbon? And thanks for sharing one that didn’t work.

  • LinB

    Agreed that the sweater as is seems more than a wee bit wack-a-doodle! This “wearable muslin” was very informative about that! I like the shape of the sweater/jacket on you. I don’t object to the orange against all those blues and purples.

  • Allison Woods

    I think it looks like a craft project, sorry.

    That cotton ribbon you used is commonly called twill tape, if I’m not mistaken.

  • Lisa S

    sorry not a fan…the ribbon needed to be purple, and sewn onto the sweater

  • http://twitter.com/SewingSwap Konnie Kapow

    Nice to see you posting something that wasn’t so succesful. I really don’t like the original cardi so your version is not working for me at all. However, I think you’re right to try again with something narrower and a new colour. You’ve still shown a very creative idea.

  • Lovestosew

    Hmmm, this one is a miss for me, too, I’m afraid. I have to say I like the sweater as it was when you bought it. No tinkering was really needed here.