How a Serger Saved My Epic Sweater Fail
Picture this: You know all the things you’re supposed to do when making a handknit sweater. You take your measurements, you make a gauge swatch, and you cast on with excitement. Yet, somewhere along the way, something goes awry. Maybe you know where you went wrong, maybe you don’t. Regardless, you try on your freshly blocked project and it’s just not right.
Can you save all that time and effort? Yes!
Today, I’m sharing how my serger saved my epic sweater fail in an unexpected way. This won’t work for every sweater mishap, but it’s a good idea to keep in your toolbox of options when you experience what I did. Read on to learn what mistakes lead to my (somewhat overexaggerated) disaster and how I resized it to ended up with a sweater I love.
What Went Wrong
Debi Maige’s Mim Sweater from Interweave Knits Fall 2023 stopped me in my tracks when I first saw it. It’s such a great design. I knew I had to knit it and knit it I did.
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However, I sabotaged myself. My swatch was lovely, but my gauge was quite tight. So, I did some math and decided to follow the numbers of a larger size. Then, between my swatch and cast-on, I decided to try knitting the sweater using the English method—the opposite of my usual style.
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Did I make a new swatch when I switched my hand position? No. Did I retake my gauge as I was knitting? No. Did I stop when I realized it was turning out way too big? No. I did the worst thing you can do when things are going wrong . . . I kept knitting. And I convinced myself that I’d like to wear an oversized cozy sweater. I like a cozy sweater, but I ended up with 16” of positive ease—a bit too oversized.
But how to save it? I knew I didn’t have it in me to frog it and knit it again. And it’s too pretty to live in my closet, never to be worn again.
Serger Meet Sweater
Knits magazine’s technical content editor Sandi Rosner had the answer. As I grumbled to her about not being sure how to save it, she replied, “Do you have a serger?” A lightbulb instantly went off in my head!
Sergers are a type of sewing machine that can “overlock” an edge of fabric or seam. Unlike a standard sewing machine which sews with a single needle, sergers have two needles and multiple threads that work together to encase the edge of the material. They also have a “knife” that when in use can cut away excess fabric.
From Our Sister Site, Sew Daily: Free eBook on How to Use a Serger
The lightbulb was realizing I could cut my sweater—similar to cutting a steek, reinforce and lock the edges of the fabric from fraying with the serger, and sew the resized sweater back together again.
Related: Steeking: A Beginner’s Guide to Making the Cut
The Step-by-Step Process
The Mim Sweater features drop shoulder construction. It’s knit in the round from the bottom up to the underarms and then divided for the front and back. Once the shoulders are seamed, stitches are picked up around the armhole, and the sleeve is knit down to the cuff. This basic construction would make it possible to resize the body of the garment quickly and easily.
Here’s how I did it.
Click the arrows to left and right below to see the step-by-step.
Photo 1: Cutting the body
Photo 2: Once cut, the body is a large rectangle and the sleeves are detached
Photo 3: Serge the edges to remove the excess fabric
Photo 4: Seam the body back together using mattress stitch
Photo 5: The body seamed and now 12” smaller in circumference than prior to the process
1
Try on the sweater and determine how much fabric needs to be removed. Plan to remove equal amounts from both sides.
2
Carefully cut the sweater along the seam of the side body and around the armholes (Photo 1). Set the sleeves aside (Photo 2).
3
Leaving ½-1” of fabric for the seam allowance, mark the sweater where it needs to be cut. In my case, I used a straight line in the motif as my guide.
4
Run the body of the sweater through the serger from the front hem to the back hem on both sides letting the blade of the cutter remove the excess fabric (Photo 3).
5
Serge armhole edges of both sleeves.
6
Using mattress stitch, seam the side body of the sweater back together (Photo 4, inside of body seam showing serged edges; Photo 5, seamed body). Then reset the sleeves using mattress stitch as well.
7
Unbind the cuff and unravel it to the last row of the pattern before the cuff. Return the stitches to the needles and add the desired length before reknitting the cuff. Repeat for the opposite cuff (Photo 6).
Related: How to Determine Sleeve Length for Drop Shoulder Sweaters
And that’s it!
The Result
I couldn’t be happier with the new fit of my resized Mim Sweater. It still has plenty of positive ease for a cozy, oversized fit, but it’s not too big for my body. The entire process of resizing the sweater took a few hours and saved me months of reknitting.
Now, I could have easily avoided all of this. I could have attended Amy Gunderson’s Interweave @ Home workshop Sweet Sweater Success and followed her tips! Experts like Amy have a knitting bag of experience overflowing with ways to avoid a disaster like mine. Join her in class to learn all her secrets!
What has been your biggest sweater fail? Were you able to save it? Share your experience in the comments below.
Serial yarn sniffer Kerry Bogert loves to spend her time knitting when she’s not collaborating with the team at Interweave or editing Interweave Knits magazine. Her passion for making things with her hands is only matched by her love for her children and a well-attenuated stout. Kerry endeavors to never stop learning, buying yarn, or collecting beads. Read her latest articles at Interweave.com.
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Wow, what a save! Congratulations on a beautiful sweater!