10 Crafty Ways to Dress Your Home In Cozy Sweaters

Top this year's Christmas tree with an adorable sweater star. Purchase a cardboard star at your local craft store. Then, cut a piece of an old sweater that is slightly larger in size than the star. Wrap the sweater over and secure the fabric with a hot glue gun. Add a wire to the back of the star once you are finished.

Make over a plain pendant shade by cloaking it in wool. First, cut a large sweater in half along a side seam, removing the sleeves. Pull the resulting rectangle of material tightly around the shade so the fabric meets in the back; cut to fit and hot-glue to the shade. Next, trim the sweater lengthwise, leaving an inch of overhang at the top and bottom. Fold the overhang over the shade's edges and secure on the inside with hot glue. For safety, use a low-wattage bulb.

For a small fixture with tons of texture, cut a knit swatch to wrap around your shade, adding an extra half inch to the top and bottom. Hot-glue the fabric to the shade so it meets in the back. Tuck the excess material over the top and bottom edges and hot-glue.

To make this sham, you'll need an 18-inch square pillow insert and a large sweater, cut into two 19-inch squares. Sew the right sides of the wool together along the edges, leaving the bottom open. Turn right side out and insert the pillow form, then stitch the bottom closed. For the flower, cover a two-inch circle of card stock with a piece of a thin sweater; hot-glue to the circle's back. Next, fold a 3- by 20-inch strip of another sweater in half lengthwise. Glue the edges together, then sew a running stitch down the strip lengthwise along the glued seam. Once you've stitched the entire length, pull the thread to gather the fabric and knot. Hot-glue the gathered edge in a circle to the back of the card stock, then hot-glue a pin-back in the center and affix to the pillow.

Keep decorative dishes in stitches: Pull a sweater sleeve over a bowl, lining up the finished cuff with the top rim, and hot-glue. Next, trim the wool so it reaches the bowl's bottom edge and hot-glue in place.

Create a hothouse for any blossom: Slip a sweater sleeve over a jar or bottle, lining up the cuff with either the top or bottom edge, and hot-glue in place. Cut the wool long enough to cover the entire vessel, then secure with more glue.

Basic bracelets get dressed for the season in soft yarn (and, if you use jewelry you already own, they cost next to nothing). Just cover a plastic cuff in a strip of chunky knit, then hot-glue in place on the inside.