Have you ever knit the perfect sweater with a lovely wide neck, only to realize that when you knit this top-down little number, you forgot to use the smaller needle size recommended for the ribbing, resulting in the collar being just a tad wider than you would like? I did that, and since it's top-down, I can't take it out and redo it like I could if it were knit bottom-up. Or you may have a favorite sweater on which the neckline has stretched out. Whatever the reason, I have a solution to fix the issue!
A crochet slip stitch has no give to it whatsoever. Knowing this, I decided to crochet a slip stitch chain along the back of my collar. I would go around the entire collar, but I achieved the desired result by crocheting across the back. For the purpose of the tutorial, I used a different color of yarn from my collar. When done in the same color, it's tough to see it. Let's get started!
Top left corner of the above picture: Starting at the far right end of the collar (as it's facing you), insert the crochet hook into the "V" that is a stitch.
Top right corner: Lay your yarn over the hook (no need to make a slip knot).
Bottom left corner: Pull the yarn through the stitch
Bottom right corner: Insert the hook into the next "V" stitch, yarn over the hook, and pull through. There will be 2 loops on your hook now.
Top picture: Pull the first loop through the second, which is one slip stitch made. Be sure not to yarn over before pulling the loop through, as that will be a single crochet.
Bottom picture: Crochet a slip stitch in 3 stitches, skipping the 4th stitch and repeating across to the far left of the collar. Cut the yarn and pull through the remaining loop.
Here is what the slip stitch crochet chain will look like inside.
Here is what it will look like on the outside. It is not visible when done in the same color as the collar. This sweater has an asymmetrical collar, which was intentional. To make this even more undetectable, you could crochet the slip stitch right at the point where the color changes. Regardless, it's tough to see when using the same color.
As you can see from the photo above, I tightened up my collar by 1 inch using this technique!
I liked the collar, but for fear that my bra strap might peek through, tightening the collar gives me that little extra comfort level. I love wide necklines and boat neck style sweaters, but I have a thing about bra straps showing. This technique has come in handy for some of my sweaters, but I probably didn't wear them as often as I wanted due to the neck being too loose!
This technique will help get a few sweaters off the shelves and back in rotation where they should be! Do you have another way to tighten up a loose collar? I love to hear from you and learn new tricks!
