RSSWhat Would a Sane Knitter Do?
August 19th, 2007 | View Comments
Fall is rapidly approaching and that means one thing (well, other than the start of classes): Sweaters! I am having massive sweater cravings. The exact nature of these cravings will be for another post, though, because right now I am in need of some knitterly counsel.
I am wanting to knit sweaters. Knit! Create! Positive feelings! Why then, am I also contemplating sweater murder?
Behold, the intended victims:
That is, of course, the infamous Rogue, and also the Hourglass Sweater making its blog debut. And I suppose I should clarify that I am not so much interested in committing murder as in facilitating reincarnation.
Through a combination of insufficient attention to gauge, normal stretching, and some weight loss, both sweaters are too big. They were both a bit big to begin with, but now they’re really too big. I have a 34″ bust. The sweaters have 40″ and 39″ busts, respectively. I want to rip them both out and re-knit them to fit.
That’s not crazy, is it? In fact, it’s a continuation of long, knitterly tradition to re-use yarn in this way, right?
The Pros:
- I love both these sweaters, despite the size issues, and fixing them will make me LOVE these sweaters.
- I save money, which is of utmost importance right now. It’s completely ridiculous to spend money that I don’t have just so I can knit the same sweater again, when I love the yarns in the original sweaters and when they will be perfectly usable after a little refreshing.
- I have to wash these sweaters anyways, and it will take a lot less floor space if I can just hang a large hank of yarn to dry.
- I’m a lot better and faster knitter now. I was still having problems keeping a consistent tension when I did Hourglass, and there are mistakes in the Rogue cables and sleeve decreases that I’d like to fix. Given that both sweaters are mostly stockinette, I bet I could finish both in about a month of diligent working—just in time for the onset of true sweater weather.
The Cons:
- The kicking and screaming panic that will undoubtedly ensue when I snip the first thread and start pulling.
Any thoughts? Suggestions? Advice? Straitjackets? Valium?
Yvonne posted this on August 19th, 2007 @ 3:06pm in Life as a Knitter | Permalink to "What Would a Sane Knitter Do?"
Discussion
10 Comments
Keep track of the discussion! Subscribe to this post's RSS feed.
Have something to say? Leave your own comment!
| Trackback |
2. Katy » August 19th, 2007 at 4:38 pm
I was going to suggest some judicious steeking to make them the right size, but as there are knitting issues that you’d like to fix as well (gauge and cables) then rip away! If you have local knitting friends, perhaps have them come over to help? Also, if you’ve got a ball winder, frog them right into balls, and then skin the balls. Frogging and then containing the yarn leads to madness.
3. JulieB » August 19th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
Do it! Do it! Looks like you have a cheer squad 
4. chrispy » August 19th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I say do it. I will be doing some frogging and re knitting this winter also. Most are for fit issues.
5. Martha » August 19th, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Bring it to the Knit Together at the Monroeville B&N Monday night and we’ll help you unravel it!
Martha
6. Tammy » August 20th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
A glass of (insert cocktail of choice) and let ‘er rip. It’s cathartic and then you will have all that lovely yarn to make sweaters that fit and you’ll love even more.
7. Risë » August 23rd, 2007 at 12:32 pm
Rip em, rip em good.
8. Big Sack Sweater » CogKnition » January 29th, 2008 at 4:25 pm
[…] I knit this sweater largely while I was scanning research subjects at the fMRI center for my first-year research project. Everything went pretty smoothly up until the neckline. (It’s a big sack. Hard to screw up.) I had no idea how to pick up a certain number of stitches. So I just sort of picked up stitches willy-nilly until I’d gone all the way around the neck opening, and knit the neck. The result was a neckline that was much too big. I finally fixed it this summer, arguably the first step in my great frogging adventure. […]
9. Knitting Perfectionism: The Bane of my Existence » CogKnition » February 1st, 2008 at 8:33 pm
[…] think I jinxed myself when I mentioned my frogging spree in a recent post. Behold, the Anemoi […]
10. Sweater Life Cycle » CogKnition » March 13th, 2008 at 12:11 am
[…] are the sweaters I crave. They haunt my dreams at night, begging to be knit. On the top left, we have the Vintage Pink […]
1. Alex » August 19th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
No advice, just a little encouragement. Rip it, baby!