how to shorten sleeves

by Tina Johnson
(Coeur d'Alene, Idaho USA)

I have knitted and sewn together a baby sweater and the sleeves look too long! They were a nightmare to sewn into place, so I don't want to do that. Can I unravel the sleeves from the cuff end to the length I want?

If so, how?

Unravel to the length I want the cast off all the stitches?

YOUR ANSWER

It is possible to unravel your existing cast on edge to make the sleeves shorter.

It is much easier if your garment is done in stocking stitch, it is still possible for other patterns but be warned, it is a time consuming process.

One of my readers has written a very goo explanation of an easy (relatively) method of unraveling and picking up the stitches in response to a question asked about adding rows to a sweater.

The principle is the same when you want to shorten your knitting. You just select a row close to where you would want the new cast off edge to be.

Click here to go to those instructions.

If you knitted piece is not stocking stitch you can get the same effect but you have to do it one stitch at a time instead of doing them all at once.

Basically you snip the connecting loop at the end of the row and unravel across the row by undoing one stitch at a time. Using a crochet hook to unpick the stitches can make it a bit easier.

Hope this helps...