DIY Jacquemus Sweater

Spring is finally here and we can finally shed our heavy coats. To celebrate I decided to recreate this super cute cardigan inspired by the famous Jacquemus La Maille Pau sweater. Its unique diagonal front detail is sure to be eye-catching. I upcycled an old HM sweater I had into this Jacquemus sweater and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

I’ve had the La Maille Pau sweater on my DIY list for the longest time, but avoided it because of the buttons but in this tutorial, I conquered that fear and learned how to set buttonholes with my new sewing machine. Get ready for more buttons in future DIYs since I feel like I just leveled up my sewing toolbox!

TIME | 1-2 hours

COST | $

DIFFICULTY | Easy-Medium

Wearing: DIY Jacquemus sweater, DIY Chanel necklace, Ribcage Levi’s jeans, Mejuri Pearl statement earrings, and Reebok Classics 85.

What you’ll need

Oversized knit sweater (or knit fabric)
4 x Buttons approx 12-13mm in size
Elastic
Needle and thread
Sewing machine + buttonhole foot

Steps

Flip your sweater inside out and disassemble the front and back pieces from the arms.
Taking the front piece, cut a diagonal on a 45 degree across the front panel.
Serge the open diagonal edges.
Fold over the diagonal edge to the inside about half an inch and sew down with a straight stitch to create the plaquet area for the buttons and buttonholes. Repeat on the other side of the diagonal.
Overlap the plaquet area at the shoulder seam and stitch down to hold.
Baste stitch the diagonal plaquet edges overlapped to temporarily hold in place while you work on assembling the rest of the top.
Trim the sides of the front and back to fit with a sweater that fits, and slim down the sleeves. I recommend using a serger but a zigzag stitch would also work.
Sew the shoulder seams with elastic to reinforce.
Attach the sleeves, and sew up the sides of the top to form the base garment. (Optional: extend the sleeves with leftover fabric if desired)
Remove the basting stitches on the front of the top and sew in buttonholes measuring approx 4.5” between buttons (but not including the button width). I used interfacing to help stabilize the buttonholes.
Sew on the buttons on the opposite side of the opening.
Serge any remaining edges and handstitch with an invisible stitch to hem the edges.