WRITTEN BY: MARY KEY //  @Keynko // http://keynko.wordpress.com/

My daughter has been on the lookout for a red cardigan for ages and had a plan in mind which she was keen to try out. However, as always when you're looking for a particular item, you can never find it.

Luckily I happened to be in our local charity shop when a new delivery of yummy knitwear arrived and got the first look at the treasures inside. What's that at the bottom of the bag? Could it be? ……Yes! There we have it ladies and gents - a fine knit, scarlet red, size 8 cardigan. It was like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and ready to customise!

For this DIY, we had been searching through the button boxes we've inherited for a nice selection of mother of pearl buttons and had already purchased a length of polka dot bias binding.

YOU WILL NEED

A selection of buttons

Coloured or patterned bias binding

Needle

Thread

Scissors

STEP ONE

We snipped the buttons off the cardigan (some not very pretty plastic ones which will be used for something else at another time I'm sure!)

STEP TWO

Using the bias we edged the neck line and front to brighten it up.

STEP THREE

 We then set about arranging the pearl buttons to the right shoulder and decided to add a couple of black ones to add some depth.

STEP FOUR

Finally, we simply secured the buttons in place using a needle and thread.

Of course the best bit about this project? If she changes her mind and wants a different colour we can snip it all off and give it yet another new lease of life with a different combination.

There's also a good selection of cardigans on the Oxfam Online Shop which you can get crafty with.