﻿How To Tailor A Sweater To Fit PERFECTLY [0:00:00]
Gentlemen, sweaters can be an incredibly stylish way to keep warm during the cold winter months.
The only problem, most sweaters are cut way too baggy, which makes you look sloppy and unkempt.
And if you’re a shorter guy, it can very difficult to find a sweater that isn’t way too long.
The subject of today’s video, how to get your sweater to fit
perfectly all from the comfort of your own home. To get started, you’re going to need these tools.
A sewing machine, sewing pins, safety pins, fabric pencil or chalk, a ruler, scissors, an iron.
So, we’re going to begin this video by slimming the waist and the sleeves
first. This is oftentimes the biggest problem for most guys.
To start, we need to measure the sweater to figure out how much it needs to be brought in.
The easiest way to do this is to take an existing sweater that fits perfectly
using it as a guide to mark the inside of the new sweater with the fabric pencil.
If you don’t have a perfect fitting sweater on hand as a reference, you could still get the
perfect measurements without it. To do this, turn the sweater inside out and put it on. Pinch the
inside of the waist until it fits as closely as you would like. Then, use safety pins to secure.
Make sure it’s even on both sides. And, FYI, most sweaters especially on thin or thick body types
are going to look better when they fit closer to the body. However,
it should never feel tight or constricting. Now, we’re going to want to repeat this process
on the sleeves if they’re too baggy. And we’re going to do this by pinching the fabric on the
inner seam and securing it with safety pins. Now, lay the sweater down on a flat surface.
Use the fabric pencil to mark a line from the bottom hem of the sweater all the way to the
end of the sleeves following the safety pins. Remove the safety pins and replace them with
sewing pins, making sure the sharp ends will be facing away from you when you sit down to sew.
This makes them much easier to remove later. Now, it’s time to start sewing. Now,
you want to choose thread that closely matches the color of your sweater. This way
it will easily blend into the fabric. Now, sweaters are made from a stretchy
knit material. So, you will need to use a zigzag stitch that will flex with the fabric
instead of a traditional straight stitch, which is rigid. Personally, I recommend a stitch length
of 2.5 mm and a stitch width of 3 mm. Install the walking foot attachment if your
sewing machine has it as this will help feed the stretching knit fabric through
evenly instead of creating a wavy seam. It’s also a good idea to switch out your
universal sewing needle with a ballpoint needle. The ballpoint needle is gentle on knits and won’t
cause damage to the more delicate fabric. Now, put down your first couple of stitches
and then make a back stitch. This will lock in the thread and prevent your stitch from coming undone.
Stitch down the line you drew with your fabric pencil removing the sewing pins
as you go. Once you reach the end, add a couple of more back stitches to finish.
Now, take your scissors and cut off the extra fabric leaving a quarter inch for
seam allowance. Sew a zigzag or over lock stitch along the edge to prevent fray.
Now, let’s talk about adjusting sweater length. Now, if your sweater is too long,
yes, it can be fixed. Now, it’s important to note that most sweaters have ribbing at the bottom. So,
because of this, you can’t shorten them in the same way you would shorten a t-shirt.
The secret is to shorten the sweater above the rib section. Well, this will lead us to the question,
what’s the correct length for a sweater? The answer and this depends on your height as
you want the sweater to end right about the bottom of the belt line going down about 1 to 2 inches.
2 inches if you’re a bit taller, 1 inch if you’re over on the shorter side.
FYI, if you’re sweater is covering your crotch, it is way too long.
So, to get started, put on the sweater and measure how much you need to shorten it by. Turn the
sweater inside out and lay it on a flat surface. Now, in this case, we’re going to shorten the
sweater by 3 inches. So, we’ll mark, 1-1/2 inches above the ribbed hem
going all the way around the sweater. Now, we fold the fabric in half along the
line we just marked pinning it in place around the entire sweater.
And now, time to sew. So, we’re going to sew right along the top edge of the ribbing
using the same zigzag stitch as before. Now, you want to make sure you’re sewing needle is hitting
as close to the top of the ribbing as possible. This will ensure the new seam is well-hidden.
As always after your first couple of stitches, do a back stitch to lock in the thread
and then sew all the way around the sweater removing pins as you go. Finish off with
another back stitch once you reach the end. After you’re done sewing and making sure it
is the right length, you want to cut off the extra fabric leaving a quarter of an inch seam
allowance. And, again, use a zigzag or an over lock stitch to prevent the edge from fraying.
Now, take an iron and press the seam allowance flat. Check to see what material your sweater
is made from before you press it. A hot iron won’t scrape the cotton sweaters,
but if it’s a cashmere sweater, you want to be ultra careful and use a lower setting.
[0:05:16] And, let’s say your sleeves are way
too long, about 2 to 3 inches, you can actually repeat the same process to shorten them.
And, with that, gentlemen, boom, you’re done. You’ve got a perfectly fitted sweater.
And, I know you’ve got an opinion. So, let me know what you thought of
this tutorial down in the comments. So, what video to watch next? Well,
check out this video right here, where I teach you how to tailor a t-shirt.
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