Hip-length cardigans and vintage style outfits just don’t do it for me. The length of the cardigan always detracts away from the nipped-in waist look of most of my outfits and leave me feeling (and looking!) Like a sack of potatoes. I have quite a vast collection of cardis, all of which I am fed up with wearing, simply because of the unattractive silhouette they leave me with. So I’ve taken action, armed with my trusty tape measure and a pair of good sharp scissors, and sorted these babies out!
It’s a pretty easy little diy that will only take a few minutes out of the day- unless, like me, you end up on a mission to “fix” the length of every cardigan you own. I like mine to finish just a fraction above my waist, but you can play with the length and adjust the following guide to find a length that you’re comfortable with.
I’ve used two different cardigans in my pictures as the black one was harder to photograph than the leopard print.
- Put on the cardigan you want to adjust. Pop a pin in, or mark with some chalk, where the cardigan meets your waist. (Or wherever you want your cardigan to sit)
- Take off your cardi and measure where the pins are. Then, measure the length of the stretchy hem band at the bottom of your cardigan, and minus this from your waist mark measurement. This should give you the measurement for where you’re going to cut. For example, my waist meaurement was 8 inches from the bottom of my cardigan. Minus the length of the band, it became 10 inches.
- Mark a line from the bottom of the cardigan at your new measurement. This will be your cutting line. When ready, cut along this line.
- Now, cut the hem band off of the bottom half of your cardigan. Make sure to cut about half an inch away from the top of the band, as this will be your new seam allowance. I wasn’t very precise with mine.
- Lay your cardigan flat, and pin your hem band in place. Make sure your seams all match up- you will need to strech the hem band a little to get it to line up with the main body correctly.
- Stitch on your band! I used a stitch length of 3 to reattach the hem band to the body of my cardigan. A longer stitch will also help retain some stretch. I usually stitch along the line of the hem band as it is nice and straight and prevents any of the stretchy bit being in the seam, thus preventing a bulky seam. I also used a zig-zag stitch along the raw edges, just to neaten them up and help to prevent the knit coming loose
- Then, admire your new length cardigan in a fancy mirror! To finish it nicely, press your seam down towards your hem with a warm iron.
Much better!
(p.s, check out my fab new tee from Collectif- I went away to Brighton this weekend, and I may have spent a little more money than I’d care to admit in the Collectif store!)
Happy sewing!
Eliza
Xxx
Pin-ups & needles 