How To :: Cut the Buttons Off your Cardys

Knowledge is power 

and once you discover what's involved and how easy & fun it is to REinvent with your
 knitwear

you'll be cutting them up quick as blink!

I should point out this isn't going to be a demonstration where I show you step-by-step how to Reinvent a specific garment -

instead this exercise will be me sharing the tools, tips & techniques
  I've found helpful during my 20yrs of successful Knitwear REinventing.

:: Tools ::

:: Long pins with lumps on the end. 
Due to the nature of a knit and the fact you will be required to try the garment on occasionally throughout the REinventing process a normal run-of-the-mill dressmaking pin is useless, they slide straight out causing great frustration & the use of swear words, whereas a long pin (Quilting Pins) with a stopper on the end is better designed to hold knitted edges together until you are ready to stitch.

:: Unpicker, Quilting Pins & sharp Dressmaking Scissors are fundamental - I did contemplate including an Overlocker in this list because they are effective however they're not necessary. A Walking Foot is also helpful when stitching stretchy thicknesses however again not necessary.

:: Tips ::

:: When choosing the knitwear you want to use in your REinvention try to keep like-with-like ie. similar weights [not necessarily the same fibre content].

:: Sometimes you can cut straight through the garment and other times it is best to unpick.

:: Cut the garment when you need to open it up and aren't going to gain anything by unpicking it ie. retaining seam allowance is sometimes advantageous if the garment is too small - every little bit counts. If you do need to cut please cut carefully, don't hack into the garment .... if you respect the garment it will reciprocate.

:: As soon as you stitch a row of stitching the fabric will do whatever it wants up to that row of stitching (this goes for woven fabrics also), in the case of knits, once cut, the edges will either roll or fluff up however they will never unravel - you would have to find the end of a thread & start pulling it for that to happen however if you're really concerned do 2 rows of stitching.

:: I chose to Overlock all the raw edges on this REinvention because the nature of the knit ie. fair aisle, meant they were very stable. For lightweight knits I don't use an overlocker because it stretches the edges too much. As with all my overlocked edges I leave a 'tail' which is stitched back on itself, stopping the Overlocking from coming undone, creating a tidy finish.

:: I treat Knitwear as another form of fabric and as with all fabrics they come in different weights & thicknesses which require different handling. It is not always neccessary to create a seam with knitwear - to avoid bulk join two pieces by stitching them flat, one on top of the other.

:: Techniques ::

 

:: AVOID using a stretch stitch or a zig zag stitch during a knitwear REinvention - you want to avoid too much handling of Knitwear as it will stretch out of shape very quickly if over handled - a normal straight stitch is all you need. 

Some things that will make life easier;

• Ball Point Needle
• Straight Stitch on a longer length than you would normally use on woven fabrics.
• Adjust your tension to accommodate the fabric - test before launching yourself into the actual garment.

:: If attaching a woven fabric to a knit edge eg. bias binding or ribbon, cut the fabric the length desired [remembering turnover top & bottom], then stitch the woven fabric to the knit, this is because the woven fabric is more stable and will allow you to ease in any fullness avoiding puckering & stretching of the knit.

If you can sew a straight line you can REinvent.

The hardest part for some is cutting into an existing garment for the first time....

just remember

you can't make a mistake when REinventing if you

take your time and sometimes what you thought it was going to be isn't,

listen to what the garment/fabric is telling you, 

if it's looking like it wont work, don't beat yourself up, walk away [have a cuppa, go for a walk, have a holiday] you'll be surprised at what is reveled upon your return :)
Relax, be kind to yourself and have fun!

Click here for the printable version.