Knitwear alterations

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Angie is co-founder of YLF and its resident fashion stylist.

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Knitwear alterations

— by Angie

on January 16, 2009

I recently had a new piece of knitwear taken it at the waist. I took it to my alterations lady, who overlocked the side seams and re-steamed the garment for $10. I’m impressed with the results. It’s made a huge difference to the fit of the garment, making it less boxy and more streamlined. After the alteration it looks good both as is and belted at the waist.

Knitwear can be successfully altered at the side seams by a competent seamstress. In fact, I’ve never tried this, but you’ll probably be able to narrow the width of knitwear sleeves in the same way. This got me thinking. Are there ways to shorten the sleeve and hem lengths of knitwear? I’ve always thought that this can’t be done, but now I’m not so sure.

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17 comments · Add a comment

Ellen

I’m not sure about sleeve and hem lengths – I would think it would depend upon the type of hem, etc. Given that I’m 5’10 I can’t imagine ever wanting to shorten knitwear in any way!

I do, however, frequently take in the waists (and occasionally sleeves). This is another outcome of being tall, I think. I will often buy a slightly too large piece of knitwear if I know it can be easily taken in, because that often gets me a bit of extra length. I have had delightful success with this. It’s also been helpful this year in adapting my postpartum wardrobe to fit over more sizes.

January 16, 2009 at 8:38 am

Tanya

Oh, I didn’t know this was possible at all! Thanks for letting us know Angie!

This opens a huge door for me, beacuse so many otherwise well-fitting knits are too baggy at the waist, so now I know I can have them taken in.

p.s. I am very happy you have found a cashmere sweater you can wear!

January 16, 2009 at 8:56 am

dwj

(website)

It depends on the hem already on the garment. But if you have a friend who sews really well and owns a serger or you have a tailor that knows what they’re doing, it’s totally possible.

January 16, 2009 at 9:27 am

Donna

Angie-I have a question about how the alteration was done. When the side was taken in, did she do the overlock and cut off the extra or was it just taken in a bit leaving the original edge of the knit? I hope this isn’t confusing, but I do my own alterations and have wondered about taking in the waistline of a sweater, but haven’t wanted to try it because I’m not sure what will happen. I’ve always been afraid that the knit would unravel if I had to cut it. Thanks for any insight.

January 16, 2009 at 9:31 am

Jezabelle

(website)

I once had the sleeves of a sweater shortened. I took it to a fabulous seamstress and she shortened them about 2-3 inches. You can’t even tell anything was done to them!

January 16, 2009 at 10:42 am

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Ellen, it’s a good idea to go up a size for length. I’m glad you have successfully had your knitwear altered. It’s a great little trick.

Yes, Tanya. I actually found a piece of cashmere knitwear that does not itch (haven’t broken out in welts yet!) I’m wearing it right now with my double wrap belt, skinnies and grey boots. It’s uber casual and cozy. Hope you have luck taking your knitwear in at the waist too.

Really? You can alter the length and sleeve length of knitwear? This is great news that I can pass onto my clients.

Donna, your question makes sense. If I remember correctly, an overlocker actually trims the edge when it sews a hem. I was very bad at sewing so I could have remembered this incorrectly, but my knitwear has “a cut off edge” if that makes sense. There is no excess on the side seams.

January 16, 2009 at 1:07 pm

carissa

(website)

I say yes, you can do all of the above to knitwear. Just this week I picked up three pieces from the tailor. Being hard to fit I wasn’t motivated to find flattering, well fitting structured knitwear so I simply tweaked and updated what I already had.

Adding a bust dart, taking in at the sides, narrowing the shoulder seam, shortening the sleeve from the shoulder seam, bringing up the bottom hem, etc.

I spent roughly $12/piece. In general I don’t wear a lot of knits, I’m interested to see if I will wear these pieces more now.

January 16, 2009 at 2:24 pm

Donna – knit fabrics are no more prone to raveling sideways than woven ones. They only run downward (though it is hard to tell ‘up’ from ‘down’, and things are sometimes knit upside down)

So, use the same precautions you would with a woven side-seam – which would vary based on whether the thread was slippery or fuzzy, &c.

I see no reason knit couldn’t be hemmed either – it’s just more tricky. Cutting off the excess is generally a bad idea due to the vertical raveling, so the extra bulk might be a problem if it is a thick garment. Also, you need to use special stitches so the new hem stretches appropriately.

If you have a very bulky garment, a skilled hand-kntiter may be able to re-work a surprising amount around cuffs, but it’s not exactly simple, and isn’t always possible.

January 16, 2009 at 4:27 pm

Kristers

You wouldn’t happen to have a before and after picture of this garment [either with you in the sweater or laying flat]?

January 17, 2009 at 10:21 am

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

That’s amazing, Carissa and C. I had no idea that knitwear could be altered to such an extent. Good to know.

Kristers, I’m afraid I have no before and after pics to show you at this late stage. There is no more “before” because my jumper has been tailored already. Next time.

January 17, 2009 at 5:09 pm

Joelle

This is an interesting post. I’ve taken knitwear in at the waist before and was happy with the results, but the only time I’ve ever shortened knitwear was when I took up the hem of a jersey knit dress about 2 inches. Since I didn’t shorten it that much I didn’t have to cut it, just left the original hem on and folded it to the length I wanted. Overlocking would prevent any problems with unraveling (at least on fineweight knits). I would think that the only time you’d have a problem shortening knits is when it’s made of chunky yarn or when there is a ribbed hem or cuff.

January 17, 2009 at 8:24 pm

Therese

You can, of course, do all of that. A knit piece is like any other garment. A skilled knitter (check your local yarn shop for recommendations) can generally assist you in reshaping a piece successfully and attractively. I’ve had different results in having commercial knitwear reshaped. My my mother’s godmother, who is a skilled knitter, used to alter all of the family’s sweaters to fit and to eye — there was no sign of any seaming, and the stitches all matched up nicely. (She also taught me how to knit, which has been more useful in fixing pulls in sweaters than actually knitting garments.) I’ve had less success around China — the knitting stalls in China prefer to completely take apart a piece and re-seam it to fit, whereas the tailors here prefer to just sew over the seam, which can be bulky in some places (e.g. the cuffs) and do not work well with roll edges (which need to be reknit to work successfully).

January 18, 2009 at 4:37 pm

Lex

(website)

I’m a handknitter, and yes, hems and sleeves can be done with thicker knits or handknits pretty easily. As Therese says, commercial knits are trickier. They’re often very fine and need to be done by a seamstress. However, as C says, hemming them is bulky.

In other words, I can’t see how it could be done with fine knits while also preserving the ribbing edge at the hem and sleeve cuff.

January 19, 2009 at 11:11 pm

Kristina

If you have a sewn edge on the hem or the sleeve (such as a tee shirt), a tailor with a coverlock machine would be able to shorten the sleeve. If you have a fine-knit like a sweater, I think you MIGHT still be able to have it shortened while preserving the ribbing at the hem if the garment can be taken in at the shoulder (this would probably require a set-in sleeve), and if you don’t mind losing some of the sleeve’s looseness. I think it would be very tricky, but depending on the garment, might be doable.

January 20, 2009 at 1:22 pm

missjulied

Angie, care to share the name of your tailor? (I’m in Seattle too.)

January 20, 2009 at 8:41 pm

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sure. I go to Madison Cleaners and the name of the owner is Chung. She does my alterations. They are on the corner of Madison and Martin Luther King. Hope you get sorted!

January 20, 2009 at 9:02 pm

Vibeke in Oslo

I have sewn quite a lot of my clothes over the years – also knits. Of course you can alter knits just like any other clothes. It’s actually amazing what can be done with clothes. Dying – refashioning – resizing – relining – turning and embellishing or reembellishing – you name it. Check out war-time “make do and mend” pamphlets or dressmaking- and sewing books for references and ideas. It would be great if more people realized this instead of just thowing away perfectly usable materials.
Vibeke in Oslo

June 3, 2009 at 11:01 am

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