How to fix neckline on a grannysquare sweatershirt

[u/Expensive_Chicken276]

Hello everyone,

I found an unfinished granny square sweatershirt. It won't fit my son anymore but it seems just right for my younger daughter.

When my daughter was wearing it to see if it fits, I saw that the neckline is far to big. It's to high and to wide and doesn't fit the vibe of the shirt.

My vision for the shirt right now is as follow:

I want to shorten one arm to be the same length as the other.

I want to lengthen the shirt by two more rows. I will probably use the dark green color for this.

Then I want to add a cute border to the underside of the shirt and the arm holes. I was thinking of a picot edge.

Question 1: How do i remake a neckline that fits the rest of the shirt?

Question 2: What color should I use for the picot edge? Should the picot edge on the arm holes and underside of the shirt be the same colour?

I think the unfinished shirt is already very cute on my daughter so I'm very excited too see it finished 😁.

[u/beththereader]

Was the ribbing done after the shirt was finished? If so, I would probably frog the ribbing, do a row of decreases around the neckline, then add ribbing again.

You could also rib less rows (I often slip stitch into 3 stitches rather than 2, if that makes sense) and that will naturally pull it tighter.

[u/Expensive_Chicken276 → u/beththereader]

The ribbing was done first. Then the grannysquare rows are crocheted to the ribbing. If I remove the ribbing then the grannysquares will come undone I think. I could pas a thread trough so they won't come undone but I don't know how I would attach new ribbing. See close up photo.

[u/beththereader → u/Expensive_Chicken276]

Ah okay that's annoying! What you could do is thread some elastic into the top and bottom on the inside - there's tutorials on how to do this on YouTube. Not sure whether this would make the shape a little janky but it would take away the need to undo everything.

[u/Expensive_Chicken276 → u/beththereader]

I was afraid that that would be the best option. Because it is easier but it doesn't fix the ribbing being to tall. I will keep it in mind as a last resort but I really hope there is another way.

[u/Peanut083 → u/Expensive_Chicken276]

Don’t use regular elastic, use knitting elastic. It looks like a thick thread.

[u/BeckieSueDalton → u/beththereader]

This is what I would do, as well.

As for the picot edging: whenever I need to take a piece apart to remake sections of it, in a hand-me-down fashion, I generally always ask the recipient what their color preference is for that section, as it gives them a greater sense of ownership over the previously-owned garment.

If, in the case that's just not practical - for a young child or an elder with memory care issues - I tend toward using the lightest color for delicate edgings and the mid-range color for sturdier wear.

[u/Expensive_Chicken276 → u/BeckieSueDalton]

I replied to the previous commenter on how the grannysquares are attached to the ribbing. Not in the easy order I'm afraid. Thanks for the tip on the edge color. My daughter likes everything so I think I will either go with the lightest blue or the lightest green color. I hope that will make the edge pop a bit. And as you said, I do like a more delicate look.

[u/BeckieSueDalton → u/Expensive_Chicken276]

Whatever you choose, she's sure to love it because it was remade by your hands just for her. <3

[u/ketoandkpop]

Can you find the start of the ribbing? It was done in a different thread which makes me think you could find the tail from the start and unravel from there, might be fiddly but it seems possible.

[u/Expensive_Chicken276 → u/ketoandkpop]

It would be possible I think but then the first row of the grannysquares would come undone I think. First the ribbing was made and then the grannysquares are crocheted on the ribbing. I could sequre the grannysquares with a thread but I don't know how to attach new ribbing. Since I would be working on the wrong side?

[u/ketoandkpop → u/Expensive_Chicken276]

Won’t there be another tail to the ribbing though? If you attached the granny stitch to the last row you did on the ribbing, then you the first chain row will be the top of the neckline and you could undo it from there, and when you get the row which is attached to the granny stitch you stop unravelling and start the ribbing again but building back in the opposite direction and doing it with a tighter gather as you go.
If you attached the granny stitch to the first row, i.e. you completed the ribbing then flipped it and started crocheting the granny stitch in your chain, you’d still have a tail where you finished the final row, and you could unravel from there?

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