This Old Sweater

The gansey is at least 12 years old, to the best of my recollection.  This doesn’t make it eligible for inclusion in the registry of historic sweaters, or to be called vintage.  A gansey is classic, so it couldn’t even be considered dated.  (At least to knitters.)  I used to wear it frequently.  For whatever reason, I just don’t wear it much these days, and I think I’d get more use out of it if it were a cardigan.

The freezing drizzle and ice pellets today have given me the time and inclination to continue with the remodel.  I don’t have any burly guys with Boston accents giving me guidance.  I don’t have a Boston accent either, and my New Jersey only comes out when I’m home, visiting.  So this remodel will be accent neutral, but I hope it gives you, the sweater owner, the courage to remodel on your own.

Baste once, check about 4 or 5 times at least.
This is back of the sweater. Do Not Cut This.  Even if you were stoopid (that’s NJ) and marked it by mistake.

This is the front.

I checked.  I checked again.  Then I sewed down either side of the basting line with the sewing machine, using small stitches.  You could sew by hand, or make a crocheted steek, if you prefer.  In this case, because the steek is over pattern stitches,  I thought that machine stitching would be easier. Not to mention faster.  I used a thread that didn’t clash horribly, but was still visible to the aging eyeball.

Lay the sweater out flat.  Lay your scissors on the sweater.  Use sharp shears, of the quality you’d use for fabric.  You can use small scissors, but shears make it much easier.  Ponder the next step, take a deep breath and begin. Make sure you are only cutting the front layer.

Keep cutting, keep breathing.

Tah dah!  You have cut the front open, and the edges are still in place.

Pull out the basting yarn. Look, the stitches are holding.

Now I’m off to figure out how I want to make the button bands.  I think I’ll save that for the next episode.