Oh Catherine I am a knitter. Thank goodness you didn’t cut it. So much time ,effort and expense went into that sweater. What a great find. Congratulations !

Knitter here! Lace weight Mohair, 4 to 5 skeins at $35 to $40 per skein, not including the time that went into the making of that beautiful sweater… we would have to hunt you down for cutting it 😂😂 Great work 👍👍‼️💯

As a knitter, I am so happy and profoundly relieved that you did not cut up that beautiful sweater!

I love seeing the respect you gave to the original knitter. Why something this beautiful was in a thrift store is anyone's guess, but the end results proves it wound up in the right hands.

It has never occurred to me to understitch a french seam. Genius! Also I always learn from your hand sewing. I've also been learning to try on try on try on as I go as I learn from your backlog of videos. Nobody has ever taught me such practical sewing before and I've been doing it for 50+ years! Thank you so much!

I'm a knitter. Thank you for not cutting up that sweater. The yarn it was made from would cost a lot of money today. Your camisole and sweater are beautiful together. It was well worth your time and effort. Very nice.

Love your channel. I am a self taught sewer since 11 yrs of age. I’m now over 60 and still picked up a tip or two. Thanks!

I was petrified you'd cut it. The changes look stunning. So enjoyed this episode.

« Zigzag first and then cut”; this is the first time I see you hesitate before cutting (I get cold feet all the time)! Thank you for being respectful to the knitter’s work. I occasionally knit and I can tell that this was the labor of love. I had forgotten your trick to make the thread secure when sewing buttons. One more reason to keep watching your videos. A good teacher doesn’t mind repeating things to her slow (that’s me 😉) students. Thank you again, Catherine. This outfit is gorgeous.

*like* just for acknowledging the beautiful knit! 😂

Again, I have to thank you for your videos, I’m 75 and have sewn most of my life , I’m learning so much from you. Keep up the exceptional work,

Not matronly, but classic. It's beautiful. I knit and your instinct to keep it minimal was exactly right. Treasures should be, well, treasured!

Gorgeous pieces in this video. I thought the saving of the sweater was genius a real heirloom piece. The silk camisole was a labour of love. So intricate and a beautiful outcome.

I'm so glad this sweater found a home with you, Catherine! Thanks for the French seam tips in the camisole construction. - Kelly

My little knitter's heart is so glad you didn't cut up that beautiful sweater. Your changes were perfect, and your button/buttonhole solution was so clever. The lace camisole added just the right touch. Congrats! Love your upcycling videos.....

To close a buttonhole you simply use the yarn (similar or raveled from the cut-off) to raw the edges, vertically/horizontally depending on how the hole was created, with ladder stitch. The same way hand-knitted seams should be sewn. I love the result you got. A beautiful feminine pair.

Great video. Ive used crappy cheap "fabric" scissors my whole sewing life and recently when a new fabric store opened up close by, and i had some vouchers, my husband encouraged me to get some good equipment. And oh my goodness what a difference it makes to have good quality fabric shears! So much more fun! Yes expensive, but so worth it

Found you, subscribed and love your videos; I am 72 years old, trying to sew more and really appreciate how you describe everything, easily and to the point. I sew doll clothes from thrifted girl clothes and can adapt all your tutorials to my pastime. Thank you ❤

As a knitter, my heart would freeze at the thought of cutting up a beautiful sweater like that one. Modifying it as you did was lovely, but cutting it into pieces would be a travesty. Chop up all the fast fashion sweaters you like, but beautiful handknits are another story.

I’ve been knitting since I was 5 years old and made many a sweater like this one. Was a professional tailor and I would definitely cut into it. But I seem to be in a minority here 😊 Either way, you did a great job.

Tenho 56 e costuro há 43. Amo fazer upcycling e passei a te seguir pois seus vídeos são inspiradores e bem explicativos.aprendi muitas dicas contigo. Obrigado pelas lindas peças de hoje. ❤

Beautiful, gorgeous cami. WOW you knocked that out like it was nothing. I'm 62 and am still afraid of sewing something like your cami. (Afraid of stuffing up expensive material) you really are gifted. Greetings from Perth, Western Australia 🌺

Sewing down the French seam before finishing the seam is brilliant!

Exquisite work! And you've solved the mystery of the French seam on delicate silk for me. Thank you!

Understitching a French seam is new to me. Thank you for showing us how.

That new cammie is so cute! So professional too. I feel a little envious. It's beautiful with that wonderful sweater too. As someone who only knits on a loom and does only a little crochey, I think that the creator of the hand knit sweater wouldn't be too upset. Her beautiful sweater was made to fit someone so well and shown off with the new cammie. I would be smiling I hope, yea, I'd be thinking "why didn't I think of that!". Very lovely together😊

When you started the video I was mentally saying " Not that sweater!!!! Please not that type of change. I appreciated the deceased shoulder volume. Love all the gentle changes you managed. The camisole was perfect. Very nice use of the wedding lace. Hope you can show us the wedding dress of your sister in law.

Thank God you haven't cut this beautiful cardigan up - I am a knitter, love the stitches on this garment! X x x

very nice job

wow! just wow!! thanks so much.

As a knitter, I’m so happy you didn’t cut it up, you did a beautiful job❤

So, I am also a knitter. The sweater is beautiful, but the saddest thing of all would be that it was never worn again because it didn’t fit properly or look current enough. I wouldn’t have been sad for you had totally refashioned it! It should be worn and you have the skills to get it new life!

I look forward to all new uploads of yours. Your a inspiration to me. I really like your personality and wish I had a sewing teacher like you.(I'm 65 and mostly self taught) I love to upcycling.)

I have my father's scissors, and they are solid steal. All of them are over 50 years old and were used when he was doing upholstery... Which is when I started sewing, when he bought me my own sewing machine and electric scissors. Beautiful work!

Ok, this was very suspenseful! I'm glad that sweater ended up in your hands.

Catherine, that lovely duo looks so pretty on you, and it does you credit to respect the original artist.

Part of the fun of watching your videos is observing the choices you make for each project! This is sooo pretty and really suits you. I love the camisole and the linked, earlier video, too. I finally understand what "under stitching" is and how it is useful!!! I thought it was something slightly different. I think that it could be a really important skill/technique to use. I'm looking forward to more sewing in 2024, once I move. I'm getting rid of most of my things (clutter), but I am taking my sewing machine and the serger that I haven't tried to use since I bought it in July 2022. Looking forward to learning from you in 2024. Happy Holidays to you, and thank you for teaching and inspiring me in 2023!!

I can see your husband happy with it too. It looks that good on you😊

All the knitters of the world salute you for making something beautiful that suits your style without destroying some dedicated knitters' hours, if not months, of work.

A lot of people would say I'm crazy but this would be one outfit that would benefit from some very thin shoulder pads. It's beautiful as is but shoulder pads would give it a very nice shape.

Just when I think you can't surprise me anymore with your beautiful creations, you manage to surprise me. Thank you for your inspiring work.

Catherine, your voice is so comforting and encouraging. I really enjoyed watching this entire video. Bless you!

I really admire your expertise!

Great hack love it. You can remove the sticky tape residue using a pice of brown paper over it and a hot iron !! 😊

Love this luxury make over! Classy clothes, for a classy lady! I've lost 8 stone in the last 6 months and need to be altering clothes to show it off.

Oh, To be able to cut that rapidly and accurately! Tis lovely❤

Beautiful! I love your soothing voice. No vocal fry!

Wow, that is so beautiful! I can't wait to watch more of your videos! Awesome

Beautiful !!!!!

So pretty. Glad you worked with the older garment, and just modified it.

As a knitter well done, it is beautifully knitted and would have taken many hours.

No, I'm a knitter and was ready to cry when I saw that sweater. It's beautiful ❤. I up cycle knits too and won't cut up beautiful hand knits when I'm lucky enough to find them.

Even us little old ladies don’t like looking matronly. At least I don’t. I think what you did was timeless and beautiful

I’m so glad you didn’t cut that beautiful sweater. The new look is fabulous

the way you styled them is very cute, you look so pretty !!

I agree, the sweater is beautiful, so much work. Shoukd never be harmed, should be washed delicately, treated very well.

The generous sleeves elevate it and are current. Thin narrow sleeves are cheap.

BRAVO!!!! Thank you for sharing this experience -- reminded me of sewing with my mother and grandmother. They were so verry talented... My mom made both my wedding dress and my sister's.... with us helping with the appliqued lace to the bodice..... great memories.

Looks great!

What a pleasure. Thank you. I learned a lot. I don't knit or pretend to sew. But I would like to try some simple things and you are a real motivator.

I applaud you! It's beautiful by itself, but a little will make that all the better!

Both pieces are absolutely beautiful!

I just ordered my own Wiss scissors. You teach me so much everytime I check in. Thank you for respecting that knitted garment....

So many thanks for showing how to repair a knitted cardigan. I wish I knew that technique before to aplly it to my moms woolen sweaters.

I just enjoy watching and listening to you share your expertise. I especially appreciate you sharing those buttons hole tips, and that french seam... just beautiful ❤️

What a pretty combo together! Beautiful job on the camisole.

That is truly some spectacular knitting. Good job! I'm able to keep following you with great admiration!

Thanks for the tip with the french seams. As usual a stunning creation. ❤

I am thrilled with your decision! That is exquisite work!! Taking it in is just fine!!!

Beautiful you saved the knit and made a beautiful camisole to go with it ❤

Beautiful i’m in knitter. There is a technique called steeking where you knit a garment in the round then you sew to secure your stitches and cut and then add the button band or a sleeve or whatever.

Nice! I learned about French seams and attaching lace. So cool. Thanks Catherine!

I absolutely loved your creation. So much work and what an idea! Love to watch you creativity come to life

I so enjoy your videos. You make us all feel like we are your friends. Your ideas are so fantastic. Thank you.

Haha, well the outdated puff shoulder is back on trend, but I don't like it either! I'm glad you were able to reduce those. Very clever solutions for the button holes. I'm always learning something from you!

Lovely, lovely job on both pieces Catherine. So glad you didn’t can’t that beautiful cardi. There was a lot of work in that original knit but you took it from a tad dowdy to stylish - especially with the silk cami. 🧑🏻‍🎄🎄🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Knitter here: I agree with many comments - it's much better to thoughtfully cut into a knitted garment than never wearing it again. It's not a museum piece after all. Everyone now can appreciate the wonderful yarn and exquisite knitting. Thank you for sharing your lovely videos. Happy New Year from New Zealand!

Thank you for the tip when sewing a French seam. I differently will try this.

A great outcome for this beautiful sweater!!

Thank goodness! This took weeks to make, I imagine. If it had been a storebought, machine knit, go for it, but don't destroy a handknit when it's in good condition! This is a stunning sweater/cardigan as is. I just hope the person who donated it wasn't gifted this item, because that would be infuriating to me as a knitter and crocheter.

They remind me of some scissors I saw on TV that a men’s coat maker used.

Loved your sweater and new camisole. I hope you find another sweater to make one of your pictures. Those are so pretty. ❤

Thank you for treating the sweater with so much respect. I am a knitter and making this sweater must have taken many weeks. At the end of the video when you lift your arm we can see the seam allowance of the sleeve poking out. Maybe you want to stitch it down by hand. At least that's what I would do. I love the camisole. Years ago I saved the lace part of an old camisole but never knew what to do with it. Now I feel confident to attach it to something similar. Thank you for teaching us such exquisite techniques!

I love all of your videos. That being said I think this one has to be one of my favorites. I love making French seams, but never thought to understitch them. Thank you.

Always something to learn. So well explained and beautiful results. Thank you

I’m a lotsa crocheter and sometimes knitter. Yep, definitely so happy that you didn’t cut it. I was thinking about how much time and money went into it, and all of the 200 reasons in the comments.❤❤❤

Catherine this project is stunning💫

Catherine, try the serpentine stitch or lightning stitch for lace on top of the body fabric. Also look for Famoré scissors, they have pointy little scissors that are marvelous for heirloom trimming or getting into little corners or delicate trimming.

Good for you! I'm glad you saved it! Bonnie Ohio

I'm always so impressed! Thank you for sharing this project.

You are so clever, Kathryn! I just love listening to you! You make such gorgeous makeovers! I didn’t know about the understitching on French seams. You taught this old dog something new. Thank you!🥰

I learn so much from your videos! I’ve been sewing for more than 50 yrs, but I constantly learn new techniques from your videos. The final product is beautiful! The one thing that I’m sure makes a huge difference is trying on at each step to check the fit.

So lovely. That sweater is way beyond any pattern I've tried and really does look great with the minor changes. The silk cami is really beautiful. I really love how silk drape but haven't gotten brave enough to try sewing with it

I learned a lot watching you. Thanks for sharing your mastery!!

I have never heard of under stitching on a french seam. That sounds like wonderful idea. I will be doing this from now on! I also like the idea of machine stitching the tack down stitch for the facing. I always do it by hand. That lace overlay is exquisite!!!!!!!!! One idea I would share with you for the camisole would be to leave the first line of stitching on the side seam, go ahead and take it in then trim the seam allowance. First reason is, it holds the two pieces of fabric together better than pins especially because that fabric is so slippery. Second reason is because you are sewing on the bias and the original seam will stabilize the fabric so it doesn't stretch out of shape. What do you think? Is there a specific reason you trimmed the first line of stitching?

This was so inspiring! I look forward to trying this out the next time I see an overlarge cardi! Really neat!

I have a pair of those shears that came out of my dad’s toolbox. He used them for cutting roofing materials. There’s bits of tar on the handles.

It looks like a sweater from Sezane! Beautiful!

So glad you shared this. Amazing work and save on the sweater!

Outstanding results as always. I’m also a knitter, and it would have been a criminal act to butcher the cardigan totally. I loved all of the tips you gave whilst making that gorgeous camisole. They make for a beautiful pairing.