How to Make a Retro Cut-Off Shoulder Sweater

When cutting your own, be careful not to cut the hole too wide or it will fall too far down your body.

Jennifer Beals made the cut-off shoulder sweater popular in the 80s movie "Flashdance," where she sported the top. The cut-off shoulder sweater became a trend and still remains popular today. Cutting the top off your old sweaters and sweatshirts is a quick and trendy way to get more use out of them without giving them up.

Things You'll Need

• Sweater or sweatshirt
• Sewing pen
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Ribbon or bias tape

Instructions

1. Get an old sweater or sweatshirt that you wouldn't mind remaking. Try it on and use a sewing pen to mark where you want the edge of the sweater to fall.

2. Take the sweater off. Lay it flat on your work surface and fold it in half with the pen mark showing so that the neck of the top is folded in half. Starting at the pen mark, cut a gentle curve along the sweater neck. Unfold the sweater. The sweater should have a boatneck cut.

3. If the sweater you're using is knit, sew along the cut line 1/8 inch in from the edge away to keep it from unraveling. Alternatively, you can fix a piece of ribbon or bias tape to the edge, but the retro style is the rough edge.

References

• TvTropes: FlashDance