Needleworkers of Steemit! Do you have any advice?
My mending and alterations pile work continues, and tonight I took in a favorite sweater, that I have loved since I bought it but haven't worn in years because it was roomy then, and then I dropped six sizes, and I was swimming in it. It went into the alterations/mending pile because I wanted to take it in and keep it, but you know how procrastinating on that alterations and mending pile can be, sooooooo...
Yeah, I just got it done! And I'm excited because I get to wear it again! New old clothes! LOL
But here's my question: if this was a dress shirt or a t-shirt or something of a solid weave, I might trim off where I took in, but this is a knit sweater. So I'm leaving it, because I don't want it to start unraveling. I don't have a serger, so I did the stitching by hand. But the seam now is really big - how big?
That's how much I took it in on both sides. In the next photo, I folded where the new seam is:
That's a lotta fabric to leave in there.
I just tried it on and it doesn't look weirdly bulging or anything, so I think I'm okay just leaving it there. It folds flat along my sides and isn't all bunched up. I didn't stitch very high into the armpit area because I learned the hard way once or twice, that I lost fat but gained muscle and if I took in the top chest area of a shirt, I ended up ripping it with arm movement later. Mah boobies are two cups smaller so I didn't think that would be a thing, but I got wider in the shoulders because muscle, so now I just leave it, lol. I'd tag that #transproblems, but I'm not even on T at this point. XD
ANYWAY, the question is: am I being overcautious about that excess material? Or am I right to leave it in place? Where are my alterers of knit fabrics at?
Thanks for any advice! <3
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I would say: if you're comfortable wearing it and the excess seam allowance doesn't ruck or otherwise bother you - leave it! Apart from anything else, why put it back in your mending pile?
Alternatively, you could trim the fabric and fold a small hem and fix it with something like blanket stitch, so the raw edge is caught within the stitch. If you had an ordinary sewing machine, I would use zigzag instead of the blanket stitch or two rows of straight stitches on the hem.
Maybe there is some way to seal the edges by smoothing a thin layer of a flexible adhesive along it and allowing it to dry (do you have copydex)?
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Woooow! These are good hints and I am learning although I didn’t asked the questions 😂😂
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I don't know what copydex is, but I get your idea. I think I will leave it, and only if after wearing it if I find it annoying revisit options. ;)
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Latex-based cement, it turns out 😊 - Copydex
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Oh! Massive allergen, then. LOL
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I thought it might be 😊
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I'm thinking the solution to your problem might be in some techniques I saw for steeking.
Here is a video for doing it with crocheting and one video with sewing by hand and another with using a sewing machine. The last one is a bit longer but I think Arne and Carlos explain the how + why of the technique. And no, I've never done it - but like a lot of things it's on my bucket list ;)
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Hry, thanks! I will check that out!
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:D Don't do as I say, @phoenixwren, but with that amount of excess I would just cut off half. My main reasoning is that it would take too long to dry when washed - I don't have a drier so I try to minimise 'natural' drying time.
To stop it unravelling I would leave just an inch (2.5cm) seam allowance and just do blanket stitch to stop the fraying / unravelling sort of mimicking the serger / overlocker effect.
If it's a t-shirt I do find that it stretches quite a bit so I'd refrain from 'hand sewing' too much.
Do you have access to a sewing machine with zig zag stitch ? For internal 'side' seams I would use that if needed (often it's not).
My biggest issue is shortening lengths as I'm vertically challenged (short :D).
I have used hemming tape. So I fold the hem to the length I need; cut about an inch from the fold; apply the hemming tape; and then sew straight. It makes it look nice, but it will depend on the quality of the jersey ...
I found a video to show you what I mean.
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Yeah my machine can zigzag. I live in high desert, so dry time isn't too much of a problem. LOL!
I'm vertically challenged in my legs, but not in my torso. Before I started wearing children's pants, I was always wearing out the bottoms of my jeans. XD
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Where are my alterers of knit fabrics at?
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I wouldn't have thought you could cut knit fabric, but a friend (who does NOT sew) asked if I could repair her knitted jumper sleeve, which had gone on the seam. It had actually been made from knitted fabric as if it were a woven fabric. It wasn't a fine knit either, it was chunky. So I guess it works. I did have to do a bit of extra weaving into the seam as the it had started to try and unravel a bit, but only because the seam stitching had gone.
Anyway, that's my meagre experience on this.
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I did that before - repaired a sweater sleeve where the hem had gone. But I didn't cut any part off. :)
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