You know the relief when you finally get an interminable, never-ending will-this-ever-be-done project off your needles? In my case this was Olive.
This sweater, knitted from the Super Birthday Sweater pattern, was starting to be some kind of nemesis. Honestly, I think I started this last September? And it's not by any definition a challenging project - it's a top-down raglan in quite heavy aran or even bulky, on fat needles. It should have taken weeks, not months, to finish, even without putting much effort into it.
But perhaps that was the problem. It was just not a very interesting project. Not even the yarn was interesting. I was using a non-descript single-ply yarn that I got off ebay about a decade ago. It's OK, but it's a bit over-twisted and it's a little scratchy. I do like the colour, though, and I thought it might work well for a simple raglan.
I finished this jumper on Sunday, during a Eurovision marathon (recorded the night before so the boys could watch it). When I tried it on I realised that I had somehow totally messed up the waist. Obviously, as bored as I was with this project, I had never bothered to try it on. It looked loose and baggy and it was pretty clear that I wouldn't be able to wear it as it was.
Needless to say, there was zero chance of me unravelling this to re-knit the entire body of the sweater.
No. Way.
I decided to take the plunge and try my first ever darts. A couple of days ago the jumper was for the chop - I marked the areas to be cut by roughly sewing them together with bright yarn and sewed the sides together about 500 times on my sewing machine. Then I took the scissors to the surplus knit and then zigzag-ed the loose ends together once more.
The result, on the inside, isn't pretty, but on the outside it actually looks OK, even though I still feel that it's a bit over-generous in places...
I'm still a bit paranoid about the cut edges though, so may do some more sewing...
Good idea with the darts. I love the colour but know exactly what you mean about everything else. I wouldn't have reknit either, but now it's done, wearable and the needles are free for a new cast on.
ReplyDeleteNice save! Before reading about your problem and resolution my thought when I saw the first profile picture was that it fit you perfectly. To read what you did to achieve that was inspiring. I hope you enjoying wearing it for many years! It must feel so satisfying to wear something you've hand-knit.
ReplyDeleteBrave you, cutting and all, but it looks great and was worth it. It looks great and yes, it feels so good to get something off the needles that has been taunting you doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteYou are so brave to cut your knitting!
ReplyDeleteWow, brace decision but I think it's worked well and definitely saved a LOT of reknitting.
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