Le Le emailed me this morning. She finished her first sweater using the Sweater 101 method over a year ago. It “turned out really nice, but the sleeve is too short, the cuffs are beyond my wrist and looked horrible. So now this is my second one. “
She was asking for advice on the second sweater, but because she had mentioned sad, short-sleeved sweater #1, I couldn’t ignore it.
Cheryl: You can fix those short sleeves by cutting off the cuff and knitting a new, longer one downward and doing a tubular bind off . . . About how much length do you need to add?
Le Le: About 2 inches, but I am really nervous about cutting it and re knitting it.
It is a 1×1 rib, any advice how I can do this without messing it up.
Cheryl: I’m going to write a blog post that will take you to the videos you need to fix that short sleeve.
And here it is.
STEP 1: Cut off the cuff that’s there.
This has to be done carefully but it is not as scary as it sounds. This video shows how to cut your knitting apart with the goal of rejoining the pieces after shortening or lengthening one of them so it’s not exactly the skill you need, but it shows your first step.
With the end of the cuff facing upward (away from you) and using a circular needle several sizes smaller than you used for the sweater body, go to this video and follow the directions for inserting the first needle.
You only need one needle (not two as in this video) and you are going to run it through the first or second row above the ribbing. It doesn’t matter which one though it might be easier to see the second row.
Once you run that needle through every stitch on that row and pull the cable through, you are ready to snip a stitch on the row “above it” . . . the one toward the cuff, and unravel it as shown in this video, one stitch at a time. The video shows 2 pieces of knitting safely strung on needles but your cuff will have live stitches at the top.
When you’ve detached the cuff entirely, you can unravel it (this might mean picking out the seam as you go along, but just be patient).
STEP 2: Knit the new cuff downward
You have a couple of choices here.
a) You can undo a little of the sleeve seam and work the 1 x 1 ribbing back and forth. (You’ll need an odd number of stitches for this option).
b) You can work the 1 x 1 ribbing on circular needles in a small circumference. (You’ll need an even number of stitches for this option).
If necessary, increase or decrease a stitch to get the odd or even number you need.
Now, with needles THE SAME SIZE AS YOU KNIT THE ORIGINAL RIBBING, knit the ribbing to your desired length (add 2 inches to the original length) and bind off. You wanted to do a tubular bind-off so here it is:
BINGO! Do that two times and you’re in business Sister, warm wrists and all!
A possible complication that would require a STEP 1.5: Reclaiming Yarn
If you have plenty of unknit yarn from your original pile of it, just knit the cuffs with that. But if you have to unravel the cuffs and reuse that yarn I highly recommend that you get the kinks out first by treating it, otherwise the gauge will not be even. It’s likely to look lumpy and wonky. It takes some time but it’s easy.
Well, Le Le. This explanation was harder to write than I thought. The process is easy for me so I usually don’t think of how many different steps there are. It’s time-consuming and I might run into little glitches along the way like a seam that was hard to tease apart, but it’s just part of the process and I’m a patient woman.
I hope this helps you and lots of other people who might want to lengthen or shorten some part of their sweater.
Warm regards and let me know how this works for you. Please take before and after pictures.
Cheryl
p.s. Not only can you do this, you will gain a ton of confidence for just being brave enough to try it.
p.p.s. The worst thing that can happen is that you end up not wearing the sweater. But you already don’t wear it, so there’s really no downside.
If the ribbed cuff of a sweater, or brim of a knitted had, is a different color that the first row of regular knitting, can the yarn of the cuff/brim simply be picked away?
How do you deal with a knitted sweater or hat that has been knit in cable pattern which involved both knit and purl stitches?
The answer to your first question is yes, but you need to be able to secure the stitches so that they don’t unravel.
Your second question is way too general for me to answer. What do you mean by “deal with” it? Every situation requires individualized step-by-step problem solving, but you can usually fix things with enough perseverance and skill.
You’ve given us some great info here Cheryl- thanks so much for generously sharing your knowledge with us!
You are so welcome Jane, Thank you for commenting.
Thank you Cheryl! I have just been reading my Sweater101 as I am working on your Sweater Workshop sweater for a soon to arrive granddaughter!
Great Megan! And congratulations on your new granddaughter! How fun to knit for little ones.
Great tutorial! I’ve not run into the problem but at least this will be in my library when(probably)/if the time comes. Just started knitting for grand nieces and nephews who will out grow sweaters – so lengthening the sleeves might get them another year or two of wear.
Thank you Kathryn. Often children grow much faster in length than in girth so this technique really works for that. Lucky grand nieces and nephews.
Thank you Thank you Thank you! My special sweater cardigan I made with Rowan Kid Silk Haze, needs to be lengthened. I figured I knew how to do it, but your blog and videos takes the fright out of it! Great instructions!
You are so welcome! And good luck. I know you’ll do fine.
Some pattern instructions are printed incorrectly. Since I am not an experienced knitter, I use my reason and some times it works – not always. How can I find out from a pattern I purchased if this is a mistake or I am just not reading it correctly. Is it possible to send you a pattern I feel has incorrect instructions. s
I don’t really have the time to check all the numbers and directions in other people’s complete patterns. If it’s just some small section of it that has confusing language I can sometimes clear it up quickly and I don’t mind that.
Yes. You’re right. Many patterns have mistakes but most of those mistakes are now on the website of the designer or seller of the pattern under “errata.” I suggest that you track down the designer or publication and see if they have noted any problems with it.
I don’t know exactly how to use this site.
It’s just a regular website. There’s no special way to use it.
Thank you very much for this wonderful information on how to repair the length of sleeves on a sweater you have finished. My problem is that I made a mistake on one of th sleeve and tried to fix it and it only made it worse. I think I can fix it with this method. I hope I will be a success.
You are so welcome Margaret. Yes. You can use this method to correct a mistake. Sometimes you just have to unravel a small section in order to fix a mistake. Good luck and let me know how it works.