Knitters, sewers, DIYers - fray my ruffle sweater?

Wondering if there is a way to change my ruffle edged cardi into a sort of intentional raw edge/frayed look instead? I'm half tempted to take the seam ripper to it but figured I'd better seek guidance first. There is no good way to remove the whole ruffle itself - the sweater would be too shrunken/short/small and look odd.
Any tips or ideas?? It's 100% cashmere if that matters. Thanks in advance!

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12 years ago

General

4 replies

Latest reply was from Rambling Ann

Anonymous

Is the ruffle sewn on or part of the sweater body? I think if you try and fray it, it's just going to clump and unravel. I think you should just pass it on or keep for loungewear.

12 years ago

kellygirl

Veteran

I don't think it will end well, Mo. If you are bent on trying, I think you should run a machine stitch around the base of the ruffle--perhaps even two rows of stitching--then you could cut up to that edge and get kind of a distressed edge but the result might not be pretty. Personally, I'd leave it alone and like Ceit said, wear it as loungewear. It's so pretty!

12 years ago

(website)

Veteran

Okay, sounds like not a good idea. It is a separate seam from the body of the sweater all the way around the ruffle, but it it's just going to look moth-eaten, that's no better than a ruffle I am over.

12 years ago

Rambling Ann

(website)

Veteran

I wrote all this below, then realized it's probably wrong because of how I think the ruffle is constructed. The ruffle is made from a string that goes back and forth, say left to right, then right to left, on and on. You get the fringing in the method I wrote below if you cut perpendicular, up and down, to the direction of the knitting. If the direction of the knitting was along the edge of the ruffle, it won't fringe, only the outermost strings will come off, unraveling like Ceit suggests. Need a closeup picture of the ruffle to be sure.

<strike>Do you have a sewing machine? You could try something akin to steeking, which is how sleeves are put into the bodies of Nordic sweaters that are knit in a continuous s, although then you don't want the fabric to fray. With the sewing machine, stitch around the perimeter, really small stitches, a good 1/2" back from the edge or however long you want the fringe. Then use sharp scissors to cut the binding off, the first round of stitches closed to the hem. It will fray back to the edge, you'll probably have to help it and then trim it to even it up, as I guess some of the scallops will produce longer threads. If you were into lace, could stitch some lace down underneath the ruffle as you did the locking-down stitches, which would peak through the fringe. If you haven't worked with cutting knitted fabrics, I'd buy a super cheap knit at a thrift shop to practice on.</strike>

12 years ago

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