How to alter a wool sweater
Here are some step-by-step instructions on how I turned a boxy vintage cashmere cardigan into a much more fitted and flattering sweater.
My grandmother gave me this gorgeous rose pink vintage cashmere sweater a couple years back and though I’ve worn it from time to time, it was really too big for me and felt really frumpy. I finally took action and could not be happier with the result. It’s very quick and simple. I will no longer sadly put those oversized vintage sweaters back on the rack at Thrift Town.
First, turn the sweater inside out and try it on.
Next, pinch off the extra fabric at the side seams, up through the underarm. You’ll want to gently grade the seam toward the wrist so that there are no sharp angles in your seam.
Baste these seams in place and try the sweater on again to insure a good fit. Look for any gaping at the bust, and raise your arms to make sure the sweater is comfortable.
Machine stitch over the basting and trim, leaving a wide allowance of at least 3/4 inch. Now, if your sweater is old and somewhat felted already (as mine is), you don’t need any special finishing, though you can zigzag stitch the selvedge if you like. Otherwise, I recommend serging to prevent fraying.
Here is my new and improved fitted sweater:
With the scraps that are left over from trimming your seams, you can fashion a fabric rose and sew or pin it to the lapel.
Et voila! I may still change the buttons, as I find them a bit stark. But overall, this is much more wearable.
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Beautiful. Would you mind posting how you did the rose? Thanks!
awesome tutorial! i can’t wait to do this.
Goodness, the altered sweater is fabulous. I love the rose pin with it.
Excellent!! I’ve been meaning to try this on a thrifted sweater, and your post just jogged my memory! hehe. I guess I know what I’m keeping an eye open for on my weekly thrifting trip…
Wonderful job! I love the addition of the rose.
Thank you so much for posting this. Now I know what to do with the frumpy vintage sweaters that I love but don’t wear.
Thanks guys, I’m really glad stuff like this is useful to others!
Lara: I’ve been meaning to post some fabric fabric flower instructions for a while now. I made a few different ones recently to use some scraps. I’ll try to get to this soon!
Oh! I’m so happy you had the courage to do this and share with us. I have a thrifted sweater I want to turn into a ballet wrap for dance but have never had the nerve to cut it. Thanks for the inspiration and great job on your sweater!
Wow! That looks amazing. You have such a gift.
i love this!
That is so adorable!
Hey, thanks for posting this! I tried it out to my white cardigan today and it worked great! My flower however, did not come out as nice as yours. Can’t wait for you to post a tutorial on that! :)
[...] results. proof positive: these ridiculously cute handpainted shoes by made with love by hannah and this sweet sweater re-tooling by sarai of sweet sassafrass (who’s apparently a fellow SF’can!) (via craft) -good [...]
Pretty!
How clever! I love finding ways to use things!
~Elaine~
[...] Sari of Sweet Sassafras took a boxy vintage cashmere sweater and refashioned it into a more fitted and cuter version complete with a flower adornment. Find out how you can do this too in her tutorial. Link. [...]
It might be cuter if you further shorten the length of the sweater to just below your breast. Currently this is in for asian fashion
It’s really adorable!
This looks fantastic! Now why did i never think of doing this to knitted garments. I will now. It’s a shame how my White Lies Angelina Vintage Jacket cant be fixed in the same way.
Awesome tute! Thanks! The sweater is a beautiful color and is much more complimentary now! Im going to track back on my blog!
Very clever!
my, mmmy, that’s so purty.
Great recon! You really turned that into a fantastic sweater. Slight OT – but what kind of dress form do you have?
Just found your blog (thanks to Craft). Thanks for the sweater tip and for the vintage pattern links. I can’t wait to spend some time digging through those. Now I just need to learn how to read patterns…
-Tanya
What a GREAT way to recycle a sweater! It makes me what to go to the trift store and see what I can alter after I work on what I have at home.
Thanks!
[...] up because, come on, it’s cashmere! This tutorial solves that age-old problem. Check it out here! Sweet Sassafras is a fantastic San Francisco crafter with a great aesthetic; her page is highly [...]
Oh! I think the rose is my favorite part. Great idea!
[...] words on making creativity personal ♥ gorgeous Japanese sewing book images ♥ alter a thrift-store sweater into something really chic! ♥ 50 suggestions to save those “bad days” ♥ a valentine’s day sweet [...]
I love this. I’ve to give it a go. I have a few sweaters in mind for this project.
[...] How to alter a wool sweater – So that it actually fits. [...]
[...] Voi-la! You can read about her whole instruction here. [...]
[...] a tutorial I’m positive you will love: how to alter a boxy vintage cashmere sweater into a more flattering fitted shape, found via elegant [...]
I love your creativity. How inspiring!
Excellent idea. So pretty!
That is really impressive. Well done – I particularly like the flower embellishment you added!
That’s a tough act to follow, which I rearly do,, and I thought I was the only one with this kinda thinking. When I came back to NY from Fla ,I found all my old turtle neck cotton shirts and undershirts and the turtle neck was driving me crazy so I cut it off and surged it, then since I lost so much weight every thing was too big and boxy, so I did nearly the same thing with the first one and it came out so comfy, I didn’t want to take it off. I had found a shirt in St Pete that I just loved because it fit so snug, so I made it my pattern and turned it inside out and laid it over the one I wanted to cut and cut away, then took it to the surger and voila it was done, today I put one on and I layer everything just to keep warm, the one today had a v neck and I had not done one this way, but again I laid the top over the under one and cut and surged and it came out great. I also cut off any hem or sleve edge so it’s not bulky, and the surger gives a little ruffle. I also cut the toe out of my tights and wear socks instead, today I had 2 ladies comment to me on what a great look I had. I’s a gift.lol Happy to share it with y’all Lola
Great tutorial for those who want to keep the sweater in its original form! My only sadness would be that it then renders the yarn unrecycleable for future knitting projects (since you’re now cutting it into short strands) but in this particular case that’s not a problem. :)
really like the transformation
really don’t like the rose
Wow, this is great. Now I can actually turn that closet full of outdated sweaters into something fun.
Thanks.
Sad you have not yet published the instructions for making the flower/rose……..soon?
I have several sweaters and a few t-shirts that are in need of similar renovations. One day I’ll actually get on them.
Una: I’ll try to get to it soon, but I just moved so things are are getting still getting settled in my world right now.
wow this is great! i would keep the buttons it’s a nice contrast :)
Fabulous work! It looks GREAT!
Beautifully done!
[...] Happy Day posted a link today to a blog I’d never seen before, called Sweet Sassafras. The writer, Sarai, has a wonderful tutorial for altering a boxy cardigan. I’ve run into [...]
Have you ever altered a sweater that’s just a bit too short into a shrug or cropped cardigan?? I’m tempted to try it on a wool sweater that I love, but just can’t wear anymore.
What a wonderful idea. Your cardigan looks beautiful! I love the flower detail.
Not too computer savvy, just stumbled upon this site after searching for sweater alterations. Released 3 dresses, have narrow shoulders, lovely sweaters, some with set in sleeves and wish to alter. I love the work done here, but read somewhere that machine knitted garments shud not be cut. Any help here??
Gloria: Most knitted garments will fray or unravel if you cut them, unless they’re old and have become partially felted like this one. Many many vintage pieces are this way. If you have a serger, this can help you out though. Most machine knitted garments are actually cut from a larger piece to begin with and the edges are serged to prevent fraying.
This is so gorgeous! i don’t suppose you know how to dye cashmere? I have inherited a beautifal cashmere top in a blechy beige colour. Oh for garnet red of simple black!
Em, here’s a post I wrote on sweater dyeing:
http://www.sweetsassafras.org/2008/02/15/straw-into-gold/
I haven’t dyed cashmere myself, but since it too is a natural fiber, I don’t see any reason why it would be different. Though you would need to be very gentle with it!
Great great idea. I am going to put into effect right away! A bit scared tho b/c you say you should use vintage sweaters. I have some sweaters that are 3 years old….. : ) how can you tell if it is not going to fray?? Thank you
Joshua: Are the sweaters wool? If they’ve been washed enough, they may be slightly felted, in which case you can easily cut them up. Take a very close look at the fibers. If they seem to be clinging and matted together a bit, you’re probably safe. This is going to work best on fine gauge knits, nothing too too chunky.
Hi Sarai, Its beautiful what you have done with the sweater, I had one out on the bed ready to cut but didn’t because I didn’t like the neck line.
What I have done with all the old turtle necks I had laying around, is cut off the neck and cuff band and bottom hem;
then cut the neck down 4″ to make a keyhole and and inch or 2 on the sleeve, then go back and surge the edges while pulling gently to make a riffle look.
The only thing I did different, was to lay the one that fit me just right, folded inside out and just lay it over the larger one cut and surge, takes the time out of pinning and basting, my Home EC teacher may be rolling in her grave, but on a t-shirt fabric it’s very easy.
I’ve revamped most of my shirts this way and just did it last night on some knit dresses my girlfriend gave me 2 sizes too big, the results was very flattering.
I think the trick is to find a pattern that fits just right and use it over and over.
Thank Sarai for the help
Yeah all my sweaters are pretty thick. I think I may have to wait : (
Thanks again tho
Cute!!!
Help! Anyone who knows how to sew a knitted sweater smaller? I lost weight (2 sizes) and have an ll bean nordic wool sweater (love it!). Now too big. Sew with machine or by hand? thread, wool yarn or? Any ideas appreciated…
Thanks, Nancy
can email to- oliversboise@msn.com
Oh.My.Goodness!! How fantastic!!
I have altered the sweater. Pray that I do not alter it further.
This is exactly what I am looking for! I bought a too big sweater on e*bay and it cost forty dollars. I didn’t want to ship it back to England where it came from. Instead I wanted to take it in. Your site is extremely helpful, thank you! I will even make a rose for it, what a great idea!
Thanks much. I wanted to do this to so many sweaters I have but I assumed the yarn would unravel. I did have to look up the term “serge.” I’ll check if my sewing machine has anything like that. Lately, I’ve been taking in my sweaters and jerseys with a few stitches at the waist
How can I shorten the neck on a turtle neck? I find they are so bulky when folded over and prefer just to have it go just under my jaw – just one layer. I’m concerned it would lay weird. Any suggestions?
how do I shorten a cashmere sweater that has ribbing on the bottom? I don’t care if the ribbing goes bye-bye…thanks
Thanks Sarai!
I just altered my boyfriends soft (but too small) sweater to fit me!
Hi Sarai, I’m back with another idea, while in Canada last year my daughter gave me a sweater that had a cap sleeve and was short, just under the breast, and the front was cut just to the side of the breast, like a fitted shawl. I found this to be very warm and just where I needed it the most. I wore it every day over another sweater or over a tank top here in Fla.
I cut it and then ziz-zaged it to finish and to keep from stretching and have used many different types of sweaters.
First I cut off the bottom about 8-10 inches (and use this part as a scarf doubled around the neck), then cut off the neck or binding and finish by rounding the front.
I found this part to be a little tricky as so many sweaters have a twist to them and you just have to try it on to see where it lays right.
I believe this was a fashion from the 40’s I found one made by Bettie Paige, Bette Page I believe was a pin-up girl during WWII
LuckyLolaLady, it sounds like you’re referring to a bolero or a shrug perhaps?
Thank you Sarai, I didn’t know a name for it, a shrug or bolero sounds like what I make.
You know you have been an inspiration to me, I would never have dared to redesign a sweater or cut wool, but oh how I love cashmere and angora any time of the year, cool and warm at the same time.
Lola;~}
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