Dissecting Knitwear- Dismantling the Coverstitch

More practical knowledge for your enjoyment!

A big part of dissecting knitwear is taking out the coverstitched hems. Most knit clothing has coverstitched hems. You may not know the machine, but you definitely know the stitch. Ideally, there's a single thread that you can pull to unchain everything at one fell swoop. In the real world it just doesn't work out that way. After 25 years of unpicking hems, I still can't consistently make that happen. Sometimes the machine tension is tight in spots, sometimes the thread is weak, sometimes the fabric has an uneven knit and the thread sticks or maybe I'm just too impatient and tug too hard.

All of these things may be true.

Whatever. This method works, and I can usually get at big chunk of the hem to unravel in a satisfying wad of thread! Here are the steps in picture form: