sweater coat help

[1000-goodbyes.livejournal.com]

Hey you all! So...A few years ago I found this awesome sweater/coat hoodie ( i have no idea what it is actually called haha) but it fell mid thigh looked crochet or knitted, had a huge hoodie and was pretty thin so it wasn't too hot..it was perfect.I loved it.love it. I bought it.Only problem was that it was kinda boxy and too big, so a year ago I decided I should try and take it in a bit (stupid stupid stupid) and it fit well afterwards but after washing it there are now  holes along the side seams where the yarn has come unraveled a bit. My question is: Is there anyway to fix this other than just sewing back over the holes, like how can I stop the yarn from unraveling now? I believe the yarn is acrylic if that helps? I'm just afraid i'm going to mess it up worse if I don't ask for some sort of advice and I really don't want to throw my sweater away, so any help is greatly appreciated!
thanks!