wool sweater

[jessmarie.livejournal.com]

ok chicas...after seeing the movie "the rules of attraction" a zillion times, i am very inspired by shannyn sossaman's character lauren. she just seems to wear the neatest clothes ever. i have all these clothes that i would love to re-do to make them funkier and more appealing to my style. the problem is, i have no sewing machine. so before i start, i guess i have a couple questions:

1. i have a couple old wool sweaters that i would love to make into cardigans. will i ruin the wool if i just cut down the middle of the sweater? i don't want them to unravel. is there a better way of achieving a cardigan?
2. i have tons of old mismatched buttons that i would like to add onto a couple of shirts i have. they would be for decorative purposes only. is there anything wrong with just hot-gluing the buttons right onto the shirt? or would that cause problems?

i love designing and art and i have a very creative eye, but i've never done clothes before. any feedback would be mucho appreciated!

gracias